Uncertainty
by PhoenixxFlame
Summary: Batman and Robin have such a bad argument that Bruce ends up pulling Dick from being Robin. Feeling hurt and angry Dick storms off to the middle of Gotham to let off some steam but is captured by Joker. Batman comes to his aid but finds Robin has already been rescued. But, by who?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi PhoenixxFlame here!**

**This is my first fanfiction ever so please be kind. **

**I hope you enjoy!**

**xxxxxxxxxx**

M'gann busied herself in the kitchen. Breakfast had become a lot easier for her to prepare since her arrival on earth and she took pride in watching each member of her team enjoy her creations, although this only happened a few times as most of the Martian's creations often ended in disaster. But today M'gann was determined to get it right and had woken up early to make sure everything went smoothly. Her determination came from the fact that today was one of the few days that the entire young justice had stayed over at Mount Justice the night before and were planning to remain together for the entire weekend to catch up on some training. While they were all there Batman had recommended some team building exercises, so Black Canary had offered to come down and help and would be arriving at midday. This gave the team the entire morning to themselves to relax and hang out, so M'gann had decided to make the team breakfast to celebrate.

Slowly, arguing could be heard echoing throughout the halls of the mountain and was increasing in volume as the participants made their way into the kitchen. M'gann smiled to herself softly as she broke some eggs 'Looks like Artemis and Wally are awake', she gave a soft chuckle.

"What's so funny?" a deep grunt came from her left, surprised M'gann almost dropped the bowl she was mixing. "Conner! You scared me. And nothing really, I'm just surprised at how they can both still argue this early in the morning" She explained. A grunt was Superboy's only reply as he turned and leaned back against the counter, content with watching M'gann cook. The arguing continued as Wally and Artemis entered the kitchen.

"How can you say that!? A woman can match a man in a 100m sprint hands down!"

"Look Beautiful. All I'm saying is that men are physically built better for work, and therefore would beat a woman!"

"Not necessarily! Women can train and kick a man's ass without much effort! I mean, I could beat you in a 100m sprint if you don't use your super powers!"

"oh yeah!?"

"yeah!"

"Bring it!"

"Anytime, anywhere."

The argument abruptly ended with Artemis and Wally entering a glaring contest, refusing to give into each other. But life continued as normal around them, M'gann continued with her cooking and Superboy had made his way to the TV to watch the static. This continued for a few minutes until Aqualad came in from his morning swim.

"Good morning everyone, I trust you all slept well" Kaldur inquired. This seemed to knock Artemis and Wally out of their little argument as they both turned to greet Kaldur. Superboy inclined his head in acknowledgement and went back to sitting in silence and M'gann smiled and began using her telekinesis to lay the table ready for everyone to eat. The atmosphere brightened as the young justice interacted with each other.

"Why do you think Batman wanted us to work on team building? I thought that we all work quite well as a team already" Artemis asked.

Kaldur shrugged, "I do not know, but I don't think it can hurt. It could improve our team work even more than we thought we could just by going out on missions."

"I'm just enjoying everyone being together, it's been a while since we just hung out" M'gann included.

"Well, I'm looking forward to some training", Wally piped in, "we've hardly had any missions lately and I'm itching to get up and do something." Superboy grunted in agreement.

"Well" M'gann announced "breakfast is ready so could everyone sit down" she looked around the kitchen "Where's Robin? Is he still in bed?"

Wally shrugged and sat down in an empty seat, "Must have slept in" and abruptly dug into the pancakes on the table, "this is great M'gann!" He shovelled them down without even taking a breath. Artemis raised her nose in disgust and gave Wally another glare, "You're disgusting".

Wally just looked up at her and gave a smile, "Fast metabolism babe", he stated before returning to his meal. Superboy sighed, Wally obviously wasn't going to do anything about it, "I'll go get him" he said to no one in particular and made his way to Robin's room.

Dick was bent over his desk concentrating on a stack of files laid in a random order in front of him. All the lights were off except for the lamp on his desk, casting eerie shadows throughout his room. Dick worked better in the dark, it helped keep him focused on the task in front of him.

Frowning, he glared at the files. He knew the real reason why they were all sent to Mount Justice for some 'team building exercises'. Bruce wanted Dick out of the way which didn't go unnoticed to the Boy Wonder, but instead made him more frustrated and angry.

Leaning back in his chair, Dick closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm him. He knew that he shouldn't be completely angry with Bruce, the fact that half of this he brought on himself. He sat there in silence, letting his thoughts drift back to when it happened.

_It was a typical night in Gotham, crime was on-going as Robin made his way on patrol. Robin was having a great time; a few weeks back he had a run in with the Riddler and had injured his leg, tonight was the first night he was allowed back on patrol and he soared through the air as he grappled his way throughout the city. It was times like these that made staying up all night beating criminals worthwhile and Robin enjoyed every minute of it._

_So far he had stopped a raping and three muggings on his way to meet up with Batman, it made Robin feel good, but he ached for something to get is blood pumping. Suddenly a deep voice spoke through his ear communicator. "What's up?" he responded._

"_Where are you?" the monotone voice enquired._

"_Coming to find you and before you ask, yes I have finished all of my homework." Robin rolled his eyes as he spoke, it had taken him this long to persuade Batman that he was fit and ready to go out on patrol. He wasn't going to ruin it because he didn't finish off his maths homework._

"_Good." Was Batman's curt reply, "How close are you to the city hall?"_

_Robin took a moment to glance around where he was, "I'm around 2 minutes away. Why?"_

"_I just spoke to Gordon, there's a situation down there. A gang have taken control of the hall and have taken the entire staff hostage. We don't know what their after or who's running the show, but I need you to head there now and scope the area. I want to know how many hostages there are and how many captures there are. Do NOT engage, I'm just finishing up here then I will make my way over to meet you. Understood Robin?"_

_Robin nodded even though Batman couldn't see. "Understood"_

"_Good, Batman out". Robin smirked to himself; this is what he had been hoping for. With his signature cackle Robin leapt off the building he was currently occupying and soared towards his destination._

_As Robin arrived he spared a glance at the police cars parked at the front of the building before continuing his way to find an entrance. Without too much trouble Robin found an open window on the second floor and made his way inside. Finding a nice perch that was concealed in the shadows Robin watched the seen unfold in front of him. There were 8 captures in all. They were all heavily armed with two covering the back entrance and two covering the front. The hostages had been dumped in the middle of the hall and tied by their hands arms and feet so they had little movement. Most were crying and choking on their gags as the 3 of the captures circled them. Set just in front of the hostages a man sat on a chair smoking a cigarette. He looked bored, his eyes lazily glancing over the hostages. He was obviously in charge._

_Robin continued to watch and analyse until he was certain that he had gathered everything important. Quietly he reached up to his communicator to contact Batman while keeping an eye on the situation down below._

"_Batman" he said in a whisper._

"_Report."_

"_There are fifteen hostages and eight captures in total. All hostages bound and gagged placed in the centre of the hall. Captures armed with semi-automatics and guarding both the front and back entrances, two posted at each end. Three captures surrounding the hostages and one sat in front of them, I don't recognise any of the captures so I am assuming that they are not associated with any known Gotham villain."_

"_Good work, now sit tight and wait for me to arrive."_

"_But Batman I can take them!" Robin protested. The reply was immediate, cold and precise._

"_No Robin, this is your first patrol in two weeks and your leg has not completely recovered, no matter how hard you try to hide it from me. The only reason I let you patrol tonight is that you promised me you would not engage in any dangerous operations, do not go against my orders. Now sit there and wait." Robin felt a stab of anger,_

"_Understood", Robin replied through gritted teeth and ended the communication. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and stared back down at the hostages. The man down in the seat twitched and raised his hand to his ear; he didn't move for a moment before he stood and began to stretch. Robins eyebrows furrowed in confusion, something was happening. The man then wondered over to the hostages and grabbed a woman by her hair. She screamed into her gag in protest and struggle to get free, but the man took no notice and threw her into the chair. The other captures snickered as the women screamed and Robin had to grip the wood around him to prevent himself from jumping down there._

_Then the man proceeded to hit the woman on the face repeatedly, her screams echoing throughout the hall. But Robin had had enough; he couldn't wait for Batman any longer and flew down on top of the man, instantly knocking him out with a swift kick to the head._

_All was silent for a moment as the captures realised what had happened, one moment they were happily watching their leader beat up a woman and then the next a foreboding figure stood in his place. Then, chaos erupted. Robin ran straight toward the captures surrounding the hostages and punched the closest in the stomach. As he doubled over in pain, Robin quickly brought his knee up to smash into the guy's head and he dropped like a rag doll. Two of the other captures ran over to help their friend But Robin didn't stop and vaulted over them and kicked them both in the back. He continued to dance across the room, evading his opponents' attacks before countering with his own, a smile apparent on his face. This continued until he heard a gun cock from behind him, turning he realised one of the captures he had taken down had awoken and now had his gun trained on the Boy Wonder._

_Acting on instinct Robin began to leap out of the way, but his leg suddenly spasmed and the bullet grazed his shoulder. Letting out a yell Robin fell to the floor, clutching his shoulder. Now of all times his leg had to fail him! Just as he began to lift himself up from the floor a familiar sight began to walk up to him, his eyes widened and he struggled to push himself up further but was kicked back down again by one of the thugs. _

"_Well, well, well. If it isn't boy blunder, I was wondering how long it would take you to show up"_

"_Scarecrow" Robin growled in response. He began struggling again but was rewarded with a kick to the stomach, winding him._

"_Now, now, don't get angry. We haven't seen each other for a while and I expected more of a friendly greeting." Robin could practically feel him sneer underneath his mask as he struggled to breathe from the blow._

"_Boss" Scarecrow looked up from Robin to see one of his lackeys approach him._

"_What is it?" Scarecrow growled._

"_T-the Bats on his way" the man stuttered. Robin could see the man's adams apple bob up and down as he swallowed._

"_Tch, so soon? I haven't finished my chat with little Robin here. Well," Scarecrow huffed "it looks like I'm going to have to end this." He motioned to his lackeys, "hold him down"._

_Scarecrow then lifted Robin's head by his hair and showed him a syringe filled with a cloudy liquid. "This", he paused for dramatic effect, "Is a diluted version of my fear gas. So don't worry you won't die, but it does last for several hours and by injecting it directly into your blood stream only increases the effects." He let out a sick laugh "Oh how I want to watch you suffer! Let's see how long it takes you to scream". Robin saw the smirks on the thugs' faces as Scarecrow plunged the needle into Robin's side. _

_Robin gritted his teeth as the serum burned its way throughout his body, but he refused to scream. Scarecrow rose and looked down at the Boy Wonder as he twitched on the floor, writhering in pain._

"_I have no idea what a man like him would want with a runt like you". This caused Robin to look up and stared at Scarecrow's mask. Without warning the mask's eyes began to glow red. Suddenly Robin's ears were filled with screams, and maggots crawled out of its eyes and landed directly onto Robins face. He could feel the maggots eat their way into his skin, and he clawed at his face to try rid himself of them. The pain was excruciating. Just before Robin blacked out he heard glass mask and dark figure descend onto the thugs._

_Dick awoke three days later from his experience with the fear gas in his room in the manor. He learned that after he was injected with the serum, Scarecrow had proceeded to give all the other hostages fear gas which had in the end, driven all of them mad. Bruce was angry at Dick for not following orders and when Dick told Bruce what the Scarecrow had said about someone taking an interest in Dick, which made Bruce furious and in turn banned him from patrol for two months. Dick refused and had started a major argument between them both, each too stubborn to give in and so Bruce left. The next thing Dick knew he was being sent to Mount Justice for the weekend where he would have no information on the case._

Dick rubbed his shoulder thinking back on the memory; it still hadn't healed from the incident and every now and then protested if Dick demanded too much.

He felt anger swell up inside him again at the thought of Bruce banning him from patrol, let alone sending him off to Mount Justice. Dick knew he could help Bruce more in Gotham, even if it was only down in the Batcave on the computers while Bruce went out as Batman. But instead he sends him away to do some unnecessary training! He's trained by the freaking Batman! He doesn't need any more training.

Bruce didn't say it, but he didn't need too. Dick already knew that he also wasn't letting him back to Gotham because someone was after him. Luckily Dick had managed to slip into the Batcave and download some files on the case before Bruce shipped him off, so now he was determined to make sense of it and find out who the mysterious man was. But so far he wasn't having any luck, all of the current cases in Gotham didn't connect in any way to this mysterious man and there were no sightings either.

Dick felt a migraine coming on. Up all night and no luck, he rubbed his temples hoping to sooth the pain and calm down. He was getting himself worked up and was getting nowhere.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Dick groaned and stood, giving a small stretch before walking over to it.

"Hey Supes" The boy Wonder said as he opened the door, a smirk evident on his face.

Superboy just stared at Robin for a moment, wondering how he knew it was him before he opened the door. He took a quick glance at the room behind Robin and took note on how dark it looked. Conner turned his attention back to Robin and saw the slight dark bags underneath his eyes, as well as how Robin's hair stood out in a random mess. He obviously hadn't slept that night, and Conner opened his mouth to comment but immediately closed it again as he changed his mind. It was none of his business. Robin's eyebrow rose at this but said nothing.

They both stood there in silence for a while, one standing in the hallway and the other in the crack between the door and wall. Dick looked up at Superboy and frowned, he was a good head shorter than Superboy his forehead barely reaching the kryptonian's shoulder.

"So… is there… anything you needed?" Dick questioned.

"M'gann cooked breakfast and it's ready." Superboy replied.

"Oh ok. Well then let's get going" Robin stepped out of his room and locked the door, Superboy walked slowly down the hall as Robin typed in the numerous passcodes and locks to his room. Once completed Robin turned and sped down the hall, quickly catching up with Conner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi,**

**I'm back and with the next chapter, yay!**

**I just wanted to say thanks to mixxi for the review and that you'll find out soon ;)**

**Anyway I hope you enjoy it,**

**PhoenixxFlame**

**xxxxxx**

Dick begrudgingly walked into the kitchen with Conner. Smells of the morning's creations invaded his nostrils, and he closed his eyes he let his mind drift. These smells reminded Dick of how he used to try to sneak food out of the kitchen while Alfred was cooking. He never managed to escape with the food, and often left with a red mark on his hand. He smiled at the memory, and made his way over to the table.

Superboy had left Robins side to sit next to M'gann, who was engaged in conversation with Kaldur and Artemis and Wally had managed to enter another heated discussion. It was quite amusing to watch. Wally was somehow arguing with Artemis, shovelling food into his mouth, swallowing AND breathing, all with relative ease.

Robin shook his head and set himself down in an empty chair. He could already feel his spirits lifting as he helped himself to some pancakes. Even though Dick was angry at Bruce, he wasn't going to ruin time with his friends. "Hey Guys" he chirped. Everyone jumped from their seats at the sound of Robin's voice except Conner, who already knew he was there. Wally began choking on his pancakes.

"Dude! Don't scare us like that!" Robin smirked.

"Don't blame me that you were too busy stuffing your face to notice me."

"Yeah right! You were doing your ninja tricks again, we thought you would never turn up, you better hurry up before all the good stuffs gone!"

"yeah, before you eat it all…" Artemis muttered, before starting her own pancakes.

"Sorry guys, just slept in" Robin stated giving a slight mile, before turning his attention to pile pancakes onto his plate. Everyone glanced at each other, they could all tell just by looking at Robin's appearance that he hadn't slept last night. They turned to Wally, knowing he knew Robin the best but he only shrugged in response, so they each turned back to their breakfast.

Even though he felt better, the morning still passed progressively slow for Dick. No matter how hard he tried to enjoy the morning with his friends, Dick just couldn't get his mission out of his mind and ended up sitting out on most of the conversations with everyone, only responding with one word answers when people tried to include him before returning to his own thoughts. Everyone was aware that Robin hadn't made much of an effort to join and were beginning to get worried, Robin was usually the most happy and outgoing member of their group, consistently coming out with witty remarks and using his newly invented vocabulary, disappearing every five minutes before returning to scare them. This was definitely not the Robin they were used too, and they were going to find out why.

The rest of the morning remained the same way, but the rest of the team had come up with a plan, to see if Wally could find out what was wrong. All the team was waiting on was a signal, and luckily they didn't have to wait long. The overhead computer loudly stated the arrival of Black canary, and everyone rose from their current seats and made their way to the Zeta Tubes to greet her. Kaldur gave a slight nod towards Wally and he nodded in return, slowing his pace to the back of the group. "Hey Rob! Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Robin looked at Wally for a second before replying "Sure Wally". They both made their way back to the sofa. They sat in silence for a short while and Dick glanced over at Wally, he was thumping his foot on the ground and Dick decided to give Wally time to think, he took a deep breath and looked up at him slightly concerned "Look Robin… everyone's getting a little worried about you. You've been acting strange all morning, not like yourself at all. Are you ok?"

Robin sighed and chuckled, he should have known that the team would pick up on his behaviour. "It's nothing Wally, really." He paused. "It's just been a little tough in Gotham at the moment, nothing to worry about…" Robin drifted off at the end of the sentence and spoke it so softly, Wally almost didn't hear it. It sounded to him that Robin was trying to convince himself that a well as Wally. He considered what Robin said and gave him a long hard look before standing.

"Well if you're sure..."

Robin nodded, "very", his face set like stone, Wally smiled.

"Great! Now let's get to training before Black Canary gets angry. I don't want to have to practice break falls over and over and over again if I can help it." Robin stood and joined his friend.

"Sure"

"Then let's get going!"

"Right then kids, today's training is going to be based on evasion while in the middle of hand to hand combat. During this exercise the attacker will attempt to make their partner submit. They will be allowed to use any martial arts known to them but no super powers."

Black Canary paused to take in the teams expressions. "The defender will be attempting to avoid all of these attacks. If the defender fails to do so it is an automatic fail, the way for the defender to win is to avoid being hit for a total of 6 minutes or to land a suitable amount of counter attacks. I will judge this, any questions?" She was met with silence. "Good, I'll demonstrate. Robin get out here, you'll be my partner…Robin…ROBIN!"

Everyone looked to Robin but he didn't respond. His eyes were misted over as he thought about something else, his gaze focused on something in the distance. Black Canary walked over to him and snapped her fingers in front of his face, which seemed to bring him back to reality.

"Hmm? Whaa?... oh sorry kinda zoned out for a second there!" Robin let out a laugh and rubbed the back of his head, but Black Canary was not amused. Wally had already relayed their conversation back to the team through M'gann's mind link and they had all agreed that Robin wasn't being completely honest with Wally and this only raised their suspicions.

"Don't let it happen again" was her curt reply and she walked to the centre of the training pad. "While you were daydreaming did you catch what the training was?" Robin nodded in response.

"Good" She smirked, "you'll be the defender. Kaldur! Count us in."

Kaldur waited as both opponents got ready in the centre. Black Canary looked relaxed as she went into a fighting stance, whereas Robin stood straight with a slight frown on his face. Robin was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on the tasks at hand, his mind kept getting drawn to the mysterious man who has taken an interest in him and the circumstances of his past mission with Batman. Who was this man? And why was he getting so worked up about it?

Dick shook his head to try to clear the unwanted thoughts and found that Kaldur had announced the beginning of the match. This shocked Robin into action and he narrowly avoided the oncoming punch directed at his face. He immediately back flipped away from the side kick aimed at his stomach and shuffled back to analyse the situation. Black Canary was not going to hold back he realised and this was probably her way at getting back at him for day dreaming. Robin frowned; this wasn't going to be easy. He began to bounce on his heels and shook his arms out to get the blood flowing, but winced as his still injured shoulder twinged in protest. Great! Now he was going to have to keep out of Black Canary's reach for another five minutes while trying not to aggravate his shoulder.

Suddenly Black Canary rushed at him and made a sweep for his legs. Robin jumped over the heroine and kicked her in the back; she staggered slightly before returning with a series of punches, which Robin evaded with relative ease.

The team could only gape at Robin as he swerved out of the way of Black Canary's attacks, contorting his body in ways only an acrobat could. This intricate 'dance' continued for another three minutes and Robin was still going strong. Neither of them seemed to tire so Black Canary began to increase the force and speed of her attacks, Robin smiled as he obliged. Without warning Black Canary aimed a round house kick at Robin's head, the sudden attack caught Robin off guard and he quickly performed another back flip to avoid it. But unfortunately, half way through his back flip he landed wrong on his injured shoulder and collapsed to the side. Pain shot across his shoulder as he rolled out of his fall, clutching his arm and gritting his teeth in pain.

"_I have no idea what a man like him would want with a runt like you"._

The memory of that night came rushing back to Robin so he didn't see Black Canary's oncoming punch and ended up being thrown half way across the room, the training pad underneath him lighting up with the words 'Robin: fail'.

The room was silent for a moment. No one really understood why Robin collapsed suddenly when performing a back flip, nor why he didn't avoid Black Canary's fist and they saw Robin fly across the floor.

Robin meanwhile slowly sat up into a sitting position, slowly shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness, his shoulder was now slightly throbbing.

"Robin!" he heard as his friends shouted his name and could hear them running over to him.

"Robin are you alright?-"

"What happened-"

"why did you-"

"Dude, you totally-"

Robin could feel his anger rising and his headache growing steadily worse the more his friends were shouting in his ear.

"Guys…" Robin began, but they didn't hear him. "Guys stop… Guys I said I'm fine! Guys…I SAID I'M FINE, NOW JUST SHUT UP!"

Everyone froze. Robin hardly ever shouted at them and they all saw the frustrated look on his face while he clutched his head.

"Robin…" Black Canary began. But Robin had had enough. He abruptly stood and pushed through everyone, making his way back to his room. He was aware that everyone had their eyes on him as he made his way through the cave, but he kept his pace until he was out of eye sight. He slowed as he entered the corridor and took deep breaths to calm himself. Dick had no idea what made him snap like that, and as soon as he entered his room he immediately felt guilty. They had no idea what was happening between him and Bruce, nor the situation in Gotham so it wasn't their fault.

It was just that Dick as still angry at the whole thing. How he was invertedly 'banished' from the Batcave and investigation, how Bruce was still angry at him for his mistakes and injuries and how he was stuck here with no current missions. To make things worse he couldn't stop thinking about what Scarecrow said, it was always at the back of his mind and he was growing concerned. Dick sighed and laid down on his bed shutting his eyes. Maybe a nap would do him some good.

Everyone still stood in a heavy silence as they listened to Robin's footsteps echo throughout the cave as he stormed down the corridor. No one had anything to say, no, more like they couldn't find anything to say. They all were still a little shocked at Robin's outburst. Robin usually laughed it off when he was beaten in training, then jumped to his feet and started all over again. Robin was never one for giving up and walking away.

Black Canary was the one to break the silence, "Ok, can anyone tell me why Robin left training just like that?"

Wally shook his head. "No idea, he's been quiet all morning. I tried asking him what's wrong but he just brushed me aside."

"Did he give any idea about what was bothering him?" the Blond questioned,

"Not really, all he said was that it's been a little hard in Gotham lately then off drifted off into his own world."

Black Canary frowned and her brow furrowed as she pondered.

"Right I want all of you to double up and begin the exercise. Conner and Artemis, Wally and Kaldur, you will begin. M'gann I want you to keep an eye on them until the time limit is up, then a two minute break before you swap over and begin again. Kaldur you decide who partners who from then on. I'm going to talk to Robin." And with that Black Canary left, leaving the team to sort themselves out.

Robin lay in his bed trying to sleep but so far was having no luck. His mind was still too worked up so instead he lay sprawled across his bed in the dark, focusing on breathing techniques to help him relax. Every so slowly Dick could feel the tension in his muscles unwind and his headache slowly recede as he relaxed into a calm state.

Suddenly there was a soft tap at the door. "Robin…" Black Canary's soft voice came from behind the door. Dick was tempted to stay where he was and not answer the door, but he knew he was just putting off the inevitable and he would have to face everyone eventually. So he forced himself from his bed and made his way to the door.

Black Canary was waiting patiently outside of Robin's room. She could hear movement for inside and so decided Robin would open the door when he was ready. Soon enough the door opened and Dinah looked at the boy within, he looked pale and she could see the dark bags under his eyes even through his mask. He had not been sleeping well.

"Robin…" She began, but Robin had already stepped out of the way and allowed her in. Black Canary obliged and looked around the Boy Wonder's room; Robin did not usually allow anyone to enter. It was a mess, bits and pieces of tech lay on his floor and his belt was lying across his bed. His famous bird'a'rangs was being used as paper weights for pieces of paper that were sprawled all over his desk. Curiously Black Canary began to walk over to see what was written on the said paper but Robin quickly placed himself between them, a glare firm on his face. "That's private."

Black Canary held her hands up, "Sorry, just curious" and then sat down on Robin's bed with a sigh. "look …Robin… I don't know why you stormed out of training but it's made everyone worry. You of all people should know that you can't bottle everything up, especially since you live in Gotham. So if you ever need to talk, we're all here and ready to listen."

Robin's expression softened and he uncrossed his arms, his eyes downcast. "I know" he whispered. He turned and grabbed his desk chair before sitting down, his shoulders hunched and arms rested on his knees. "Batman…he…" he looked to the floor.

"Last week while we were on patrol, I disobeyed Batman's orders thinking I could handle a hostage situation by myself. I ended up getting injured pretty badly by Scarecrow and poisoned with fear gas, the hostages…well…they were injected too and most were turned crazy." Robin shook his head "I was out of action for three days and stuck in bed.." He gave an empty chuckle, "Batman wasn't happy to say the least. To make things worse Scarecrow made it clear that someone had taken an interest in me, so Batman decided to pull me out of Patrol and the investigation to finding this guy. Said he was going to take care of it all himself."

Robin leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. Black Canary said nothing, she could tell Robin had more to say and she didn't want to ruin his train of thought. Robin released a heavy sigh,

"I know I snapped at everyone today and I'm sorry. I'm just so frustrated at Batman right now and this case has been bugging me all night, so I've got hardly any sleep. I just need to figure it out and it's frustrating that Bats won't let me help. And do you know the worst thing? The worst thing is that I know that Batman brought everyone here so I won't leave to solve the case on my own. It's like he doesn't trust me." He shook his head. "Anyway I know it's not the teams' fault, they were only trying to help and I shouldn't have gotten angry like that."

Black Canary nodded in understanding. Although Robin was usually fairly open with his feelings he never really shared anything personal with them. He was actually a fairy private person, so getting him to open up this much with Black Canary was kind of a breakthrough; she knew how tough this was for him to speak about.

She gave a soft smile, "Thanks Robin." He looked up at her in confusion.

"For what?"

"For opening up to me." Robin looked away shyly, "but I think you should just try to relax this weekend. From the sounds of it you've had a pretty rough time so just enjoy yourself and have fun. Then after the weekend you can talk to Batman and get everything sorted. Just think of today as a sort of holiday."

Robin sat there for a while contemplating her words. Then a tired grin grew on his face and he stood.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for listening. Oh, and please don't tell the team."

"No problem."

"Now I'm gonna catch up on the Z's I've missed, I'm fed up with feeling like a zombie. I'll be out in an hour."

"Good, you look like hell at the moment," a playful smile was on Black Canary's face as she left the room and shut the door on her way out. Robin collapsed on his bed and closed his eyes, this time no unwanted thoughts kept him awake.

**Xxxx**

**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. **

**PhoenixxFlame **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, PhoenixxFlame here!**

**I just want to thank everyone for the reviews, I really appreciate them.**

**Also I just want to give a little heads up that I have been on holiday this week and unfortunately have to go back to school next week so I may not be able to update as quickly as I have been :( **

**Anyway, sad news done. **

**I hope you all enjoy!**

**PhoenixxFlame**

**Xxxxxxx**

Robin woke up an hour later feeling refreshed and decided to take a quick shower before going out to apologise to the team. The hot water poured down his face and body, and Robin felt as though all of his troubles were being washed away with it, his sore muscles unwinding and relaxing. Moments like these always helped Dick to relax and keep him calm; he left the shower feeling better than he had in ages.

He dried himself off and put on his uniform. Robin exited his room and walked down the corridor mentally planning out what he wanted to say. He was a little nervous, but he knew that once he apologised the team would forgive him automatically, they were that close. But there was a downside, as soon as Dick apologised he knew that they would all begin to question what made him so worked up and although Dick knew that he could tell them, he was a little hesitant. This was his own problem, between him and Bruce and there was no need to bring anyone else in to this. He just hoped that they would understand.

As Robin entered the lounge area everyone sitting on the lime green sofas looked up to greet him. The whole team was there, their chest's rising and falling quickly and each had a slight sheen of sweat. They had obviously just finish training with Black Canary.

"Hi guys" Robin began with a smile. M'gann immediately gave a smile and floated towards Robin, it was clear that she had already forgiven Robin for storming out earlier. The Martian always was the motherly figure of the group, desperate to keep everyone happy and together and Robin really admired how easily forgiving she was.

"Robin! How are you feeling?" He turned to her and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'm good thanks Miss M" Robin then turned to study everyone else in the room; it looked like he had their full attention. They all looked cautious, probably careful in case he exploded again Robin thought dryly and heaved a big sigh.

"Look, I just wanted to apologise to you guys for my behaviour earlier. I was WAY out of line, I've just been so whelmed by Gotham lately and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

It was like someone had flipped a switch in the room as everyone's faces little up in a smile and bounded over towards him. Well nearly everyone, Connor hardly ever showed emotion but he rose and walked to Robin with everyone else.

Kaldur placed his hand on Robin's shoulder, "It is ok Robin, but you do know if anything is troubling you, you can speak to us."

"Thanks I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, but Dude what made you flip like that?" Everyone looked at Robin expectantly, Wally's input was the one thing Robin didn't want to come up and now everyone was expecting him to answer. He shifted on his feet uncomfortably.

"Umm I-"

"-Team, report for mission debriefing" Robin looked up sharply, he could recognise that voice anywhere. It was Bruce, but why was he here? He was supposed to be in Gotham looking at the case, that's why he sent Dick here. Was he coming to give Dick the case?

The team saw a whole range of emotions flit across his face: Surprise, anger, hope? They all still had no idea what was bothering Robin, but now they knew that somehow Batman was involved, even though they weren't sure how. Robin's brow creased as he contemplated the situation, but was brought back to reality as Wally gave a loud whoop.

"Finally a mission! Time to kick some bad guy butt!" He raised both hands high in the air in triumph and made his way towards the training pad where Batman was waiting. Robin smirked at his friend's antics.

"Wait up KF! You don't even know what the mission is yet." He called and breathed a sigh of relief knowing he managed to dodge answering the question, he could think of a suitable answer later. Robin turned back to the rest of his team. "Well, shall we go?"

Without waiting for an answer he took off down the corridor to catch up with Wally, he had a good feeling about this.

* * *

"The US Military are currently attempting to update and improve all of their defence schemes due to the increasing amount of Superhero's and Villains. They have already started to incorporate these changes and are near completion, which is due to finish in three months' time."

Batman turned and brought up holographic projections of the blueprints of the facility in question.

"The changes the Military are attempting include new modified weapons, vehicles and equipment. Adapting and improving how their soldiers are trained, bringing in more advanced and elite methods of combat and as well as bringing in new advanced security systems. Currently-"

"-That's great but what has that got to do with us?" Wally interrupted but was swiftly silenced by Batman's famous Batglare. It felt like he was glaring straight into his soul and Wally found himself mentally curl in on himself, no wonder the Gotham criminals fear this guy.

"If you would remain silent Wallace, you would see that I was just coming to that." Batman returned back to address the entire group and Robin let out a slight giggle, quietly mocking Wally while Batman continued.

"As I was saying, over the past few days we have received anonymous tip offs throughout Gotham and Metropolis that someone has planned a raid to steal this information tonight. Unfortunately the League already has too many operations going on at the moment to head there ourselves, so instead we are sending Young Justice. Your role when you arrive is to patrol the area in case any threat heads your way, any questions?"

"Yes." Kaldur stepped forward, "If we do come across a threat, how would you like us to handle it?"

"Subdue and capture, we do not know who these people are so require you to bring them in for questioning. Now go prepare, you leave in ten minutes."

Nobody said a word but all turned back towards their rooms to do just as Batman said. Well everyone except for Wally, he lasted about two seconds before jumping up and down with joy.

"Sweet!" he exclaimed, "Do you guys realise how important this mission is, and how it was given to US?! This is so awesome."

Robin laughed at Wally's antics, "Too right! This is so asterous!" He said in reply and they both shared a high five as they continued to walk through the cave. Suddenly a voice called out to him.

"Robin, a word." Robin froze on the spot and slowly turned to face his mentor. Batman was waiting impatiently in the centre of the room, arms folded over his armoured chest looking foreboding, Robin nodded to his friends to continue without him and slowly walked up to the Dark Knight, he had a feeling that this wasn't good.

"I'm pulling you from this mission." Robin looked up in shock, he was not expecting this.

"What? Why!?"

"Simple, we have no idea who this person is and for all we know it could be the same person who has taken an interest in you-"

"You don't know that, you have no proof-"

"I can't take that chance Robin."

"But Batman! You can't-"

"Yes I can"

"This is what I signed up to do, I knew the risks and I'm not going to be pulled out of a mission simply because someone MIGHT turn up. Why are you doing this?! Is it because you don't trust me?" Robin's voice was slowly rising as he voiced all of this to Bruce, but he was having none of it.

"You want the truth Robin? It's because I CANT trust you right now, the last time we went out you deliberately disobeyed my orders and got seriously hurt, and don't forget those people who turned crazy due to Scarecrow's fear gas. I meant what I said about no patrols or missions for three months, now you WILL sit out on this mission or you will not even be allowed to come to Mount Justice."

Throughout the entirety of Batman's rant at Robin his voice remained at the same monotone level which somehow was more intimidating than any shout, but anyone close to him could have picked up on the slight agitation in his voice as he continued. Robin felt his body go numb and eyes drop to the floor as Bruce carried on his rant, reinforcing the fact that this was all Robin's fault that those people turned crazed and how he was injured. He knew that he couldn't win this argument against his mentor.

"Fine, have it your way." Robin muttered without looking at his mentor and turned back towards the corridor, his back to Batman. Batman said nothing as Robin began to slowly walk down back through the corridor, but continued to stare until Robin moved out of his line of sight. He couldn't help but think he said too much to Robin, he saw the hurt look on Robin's face as his eyes slowly dropped to the floor and the way he closed himself off from him as he turned away. But it was too late now so he turned back to the holographic screens and continued to make notes on the situation at hand.

* * *

Robin couldn't help but feel slightly broken after his confrontation with Bruce. The way that Bruce told him he didn't trust him in such a cold voice nearly broke his heart in two; the whole reason for him to be Robin was so that Batman didn't have to take all of the strain. To have someone to rely on during battle, to watch their back in any situation, just to let them know that they weren't alone all required trust.

Robin paused outside of the hall were the bioship was stored when it wasn't needed and had a look in. None of the others had arrived yet and the place was empty. If Robin could just show Batman that he could trust him then everything would go back to normal, they could go back to being the Dynamic Duo. That's when Robin came up with the idea of sneaking into the bioship and completing the mission anyway, even without Batman's approval. If he could capture the intruders and bring them back to Batman himself, then Batman could see that Robin could take care of himself and can get the job done. Smiling Robin raced down the corridor to his room and gathered all of the equipment he would need during the mission and quickly jumped on board of the ship just as everybody else arrived. Luckily they had no idea that Robin was pulled from the mission and happily welcomed him aboard.

Once Robin made his way on board he sat down at the front of the bioship and swivelled on his chair, waiting for everyone to take their place. M'gann was the first to be ready and she sat at the head of the ship, making sure everything was ready for the mission. She paused every now and then to check on everyone else, she always was a little bit of a worrier Robin noted. Robin turned his attention away from her and glanced around at everyone else, Kaldur and Conner were calmly placing themselves into their seats and Artemis was already sat down, looking a little bored. Wally was pacing slightly obviously still excited about the upcoming mission and was unable to keep himself still. Robin sighed and continued to swivel on his chair, slightly impatient.

"Robin?"

"Hmm?" he turned to the source of the noise, it was M'gann.

"Are you ok? You seem a little agitated" Robin gave a smile.

"It's nothing I'm fine, I just can't wait to get this mission started."

"Ok, well let's get going shall we?" And all of a sudden everyone could feel themselves being lifted into the air as the bioship took off into the bright blue sky.

They arrived at the military base at roughly 6 o'clock in the evening when the sun was sun was only a slit on the horizon. The base was made up of three warehouses surrounded by a barbed wire fence with CCTV cameras placed at regular intervals along it. On each of the front corners of the wired fence was a watchtower with flood lights scouting the surrounding area and soldiers patrolling with guard dogs on both inside and outside of the fence. Behind the compound was a giant Plateau which seemed to swamp everything, casting a dark shadow across everything. All in all it looked like a pretty tight security Robin thought to himself.

Once the team made it known that they had arrived they were greeted by a small platoon with the commanding officer in charge of the base. He walked up close with an outstretched hand, Kaldur walked up and met with his own and gave it a good shake. He was an elderly man with wrinkles around his eyes and mouth but walked with a confident stride, his eyes were piercing and sharp, not missing a thing and a thick bushy moustache covered his top lip. He looked old but the heroes could guess that he could be pretty quick when he needed to be.

"You must be Young Justice, my name is Sergeant Major Marco and I'm in charge of the operation here. I want to make it clear that if I could sort out this situation without you guys here I would, but this is a very serious and delicate matter so I have no choice. I take it you have been briefed of the situation?"

"Yes" Kaldur nodded, "We understand and we want to let you know that if this threat is real, we will do everything in our power to prevent the information from being stolen. You have my word."

Marco merely nodded in response and looked over all the heroes. Kaldur took the hint and began introducing everyone.

"This is Miss Martian, Artemis, Superboy, Kid Flash and Robin. I am Aqualad."

"You all seem a little young" Marco stated.

"Yes but that doesn't mean we are less suited." Robin interjected firmly, Marco raised his hands.

"Just stating facts, anyway this way. We will show around the base." He turned and the team followed, heading through the gates and entering the compound. The soldiers' gazes following them all the way.

* * *

Darkness was falling across the compound by the time Young Justice began planning the patrol. Sergeant Major Marco had shown them around the compound then sat them down in a room for half an hour stating the importance of the information that they had gathered, and that if they were to ever release any of the information they discovered while they were here to anyone, he would personally have them hung, strung and quartered no matter what the law states was legal. Everyone except Robin felt a shiver go down their spines; this guy was almost as terrifying as Batman and seemed to look into their souls as he glared at them. Only Robin seemed unaffected due to the fact that he dealt with people like him every day, although he did feel slightly uncomfortable under his gaze.

After what seemed like forever the team was finally allowed to plan out their strategy alone, they were allowed a small office type space to create their plan of action. This was the first time they were allowed by themselves.

"Well that took longer than expected; I thought we were going to be glared at forever in there." Wally moaned, Superboy grunted in response.

"Yeah, and did you see the way the soldiers looked at us as we passed? It was like they thought that we were the criminals! I swear we are getting no respect here even though we are here to help them." Artemis added, she crossed her arms and stared out of the window obviously annoyed.

"They're just being cautious, its natural they're going to be suspicious. I would be too if I had to guard the most valuable and dangerous piece of information that would be catastrophic if it got into the wrong hands." Robin replied soberly while messing around on his glove computer. Kaldur always admired how calm and collected Robin could be when it came down to mission; it was like he turned into a completely different person. But secretly Robin was still a little worried about what Batman was going to do once he figured out that Robin had gone, he shuddered slightly just thinking about it but pushed it to the back of his mind, he had more important matters to think about at the moment.

Kaldur looked around at the rest of the team, Wally was still bouncing from foot to foot still obviously pleased that they were given such an important mission, Artemis was still glaring at everything that passed by the window, M'gann and Conner were sharing a quiet conversation in the corner of the room and Robin was leaning back against the wall concentrating on the holographic screen of his computer. Kaldur meanwhile was staring at the blueprints of the facility the Data in question was situated in the centre warehouse. The other warehouses were used as storage for the newly developed equipment and weapons and also parts were used as the soldier's quarters. So the question was trying to find the best positions to place the team. Soon enough he stood up and addressed everyone,

"Ok everyone, here's the plan…"

* * *

The plan was as follows. Kid Flash was to be posted outside of the wired fence to patrol the surrounding area of the facility, due to his speed and ability to patrol much faster than the soldiers and Artemis was to be place on the west front watchtower to give her the best advantage with her bow. Aqualad earlier was having problems with the heat so was positioned in the bioship to give aerial surveillance, while waiting for the temperature to decrease. Superboy and Miss Martian were placed inside the compound to patrol the between the warehouses and Robin was placed inside the warehouse adding extra security codes and as a last defence.

"_Everyone online?"_ M'gann questioned through the newly established mind link, she was answered with a group of yes's from each member of the group.

"_Good"_ Kaldur said_, "Remember to keep vigilant, we do not know who we are dealing with tonight"_

"_Yeah"_ Artemis added _"that is if someone is actually going to show up"_

"_That may be so Artemis, but keep sharp_" Kaldur replied

"_Whatever_" was her reply as she turned her attention back to the darkened horizon.

The shadow of the mountain was making it difficult for everyone to distinguish between normal shadows and potential enemies, the floodlights of the watchtowers sweeping throughout the baron wasteland surrounding the complex. So far the team had been patrolling the compound for two hours straight; guards still patrolled the area but were less in number and often still gave weary glance towards the heroes as they passed them on their route. But they bit their tongues and carried on, but still hadn't found anything out of the ordinary. The air was still and the stars shined brightly in the dark blue sky.

Wally had grown bored after the first hour and had recently started yet another argument with Artemis, in any other situation they would both be swiftly told to shut up as it was distracting to the mission. But tonight it was welcome as a source of entertainment to keep everyone from growing too bored and even Superboy every now and then would share his opinion on the matter.

The argument somehow managed to continue for another half an hour and helped keep everyones' spirits high while patrolling in the cool night. Suddenly something caught Artemis's eye from her position in the watchtower.

"_Guys, I think I've spotted something on the west fence roughly three metres from my location, outside of the compound."_ She spoke through the mind link. Aqualad's answer was immediate.

"_Kid Flash I want you to investigate, everybody else keep alert." _Artemis watched as Kid Flash raced round to where she described,

"_Oh God..."_

"_What's wrong?"_ Aqualad asked.

"_The guards that were posted here have all been killed, but there are no signs of intruders"_

A flash of movement caught Artemis's eyes as it moved passed the first warehouse, she immediately let an arrow fly from her bow which cut the intruder off short from his current path.

"He's in front of warehouse one!" She shouted through the mind link and using her own voice, alerting both her teammates and the soldiers. Flood lights immediately lit up the entire compound showing a man dressed entirely in black.

"_Miss Martian, Artemis I want you to deal with this intruder. Wally keep patrolling the perimeter in case this is only a distraction, same for you Superboy. Robin stay prepared, you are our last line of defence."_ A round of conformations answered Aqualad's command, and just as Miss Martian and Artemis were about to jump into action two ore men jumped out of the shadows. Artemis on instinct shot three more arrows and immediately followed by zip-lining down to ground level to help Miss Martian. The men dodged the arrows but were hit with barrels that Miss Martian threw at them; they quickly rose and ran at the heroines. One came at Artemis and threw a kick aimed at her head, determined not to give her the advantage with her bow. She growled and dodged out of the way before following up with an uppercut to his chin, gasping as her knuckles exploded in pain. Sudden realisation hit her,

"_They're Robots!"_ She shouted through the mind link before returning to throw a fury of attacks at it. Meanwhile Sergeant Major Marco had positioned any spare men he had around the perimeter ready to fire in case one of the intruders got away from the heroes. M'gann was having more trouble with her fight than Artemis as she had two opponents instead of one and ended up being thrown back into a wall momentarily dazed. Superboy, who had just ran over to see the fight growled and began to stalk his way towards the offending robots when he noticed three more robots attempting to enter the compound at the rear fence, the soldiers that were positioned there obviously dead, if they did the same as the soldiers Kid Flash found.

"_There are three more robots entering at the south west point of the fence"_ He announced before making his way over to deal with them. Aqualad jumped down from the bioship to help.

"_Kid Flash!"_ he said when he saw said hero speed round the corner, "_Leave us and go find Robin and wait with him there. These robots are strong and I want you both to be prepared in case we fail"_

Kid Flash nodded in response and sped his way over to the central warehouse. Everyone was too caught up in their own fights to notice a dark figure land on the warehouse Kid Flash had just entered.

* * *

Robin was bored out his mind. The room he was positioned in was large and almost empty with giant computers that filled up nearly the entire back wall. He had finished placing extra security firewalls throughout the data ages ago and now had nothing to do, Wally and Artemis's argument didn't do anything to help stimulate his mind while he waited. At least everyone else is out patrolling he thought.

He knew that he was still going to have to explain himself to Batman once he arrived back at Mount Justice. But he hoped that if he returned back with a successful mission, Batman would forgive him quicker and maybe trust him more, which would hopefully help get things back to normal.

"_Guys, I think I've spotted something on the west fence roughly three metres from my location, outside of the compound." _

Robin tensed, it's started he thought and he began to unwind his muscles and place himself into a calm state. He took a long look around the room and decided that his best option was to hide. Robin wasn't one to brag but knew that it would take and expert hacker at least ten minutes to pass through all of the firewalls he placed throughout the computer, so if he concealed himself in the shadows he could take them down by surprise.

"_They're robots!"_ came through the mind link. He frowned, robots? Could it be Professor Ivo? No, he makes specific looking robots that the team would be able to recognise by sight, which the team haven't mentioned, and not to mention that Professor Ivo would have nothing to gain from this, it wasn't his style. So who was it? Robin's thought process continued to whirl as he made himself comfortable in his hiding space.

Suddenly Robin could pick up the sound of footsteps echoing down the hall and he made sure that he was completely hidden from view. The footsteps continued to increase in volume and Robin began to mentally count down how long it would take for the owner of the footsteps to reach the door.

3…

He could feel his body begin to tense up, ready to strike.

2…

Slowly he grabbed two bird'a'rangs in each hand, his eyes glued to the door.

1…

He sucked in a deep breath, as the door knob twisted,

0...

The door slammed open and a mass of red hair stood in the doorway.

"Rob!" the voice shouted and Robin let out the breath he was holding and felt his body begin to relax. It was just Wally; he was speaking out loud completely forgetting the mind link. Boy, he really does not understand the meaning of the sword stealth Robin thought to himself and shook his head.

Wally on the other hand was confused, he was sure he had gotten the right room but as he entered there was no one there. "Rob?" he tried again.

"_I'm here Wally"_ He heard Robin speak through the mind link but unfortunately didn't take the hint as a smile lit on his face.

"Come on Rob quite hiding, come out here!" he spoke again, realising that Robin was hiding in the shadows. Just as he was about to take a step into the room he felt an explosion of pain on the back of his head and stars burst in front of his eyes, he dropped to floor like a sack of spuds, out cold.

Robin's eyes widened from his place in the shadows. Right where Kid Flask used to be standing was a large silhouette of a man standing in the doorway. The shadows concealed his identity and gave him a frightening appearance. Robin could feel a cold knot tie itself in the bottom of his stomach.

"Yes Robin" the shadow spoke, his voice seemed to echo throughout the room; cold, calm and deadly.

"Come out of the shadows."

**Xxxxxxxx**

**Hehe, I'm mean aren't I! ;)**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, review and let me know what you think!**

**See you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi, PhoenixxFlame here!**

**I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter.**

**It took me a while to really get happy with this chapter and I'm still not 100% with it but oh well :)**

**Xxxxxxx**

"Come out of the shadows."

Silenced followed as Robin stayed completely still, his body tensed up like a coiled spring. He felt a flash of anger towards the shadow but forced himself to remain still, he still had a slight advantage. The shadow could not pinpoint his precise location as long as Robin remained still, so maybe Robin could still land a surprise hit.

The shadow seemed in no hurry and patiently waited in the doorway for Robin to move out into the open. A heavy silence lay as Robin continued to watch the shadow form his perch, not moving at all. Robin heard a sigh and looked at the shadow in alarm as he kicked Kid Flash so he lay on his back.

"You know," the shadow began from his position from the doorway, he nudged Kid Flash's face with his foot and then pressed it onto his neck. "I have always wondered how quickly it would take for a boy with his abilities to recover from a broken neck." The shadow spoke as though talking about the weather, and slowly Moans could be heard from Wally as the shadow increased the pressure on his neck. He weakly tried to push the foot off of him even in his unconscious state but was failing miserably.

Robin cursed under his breath, realising that he had no choice but to oblige and so jumped down into the centre of the room with a scowl on his face. Any advantage he may have had was now gone and he muttered another curse aimed at Wally. The shadow either did not hear him or take any notice of his mutterings.

"See" the shadow spoke once again, "That wasn't too difficult now, was it?" Robin's scowl only intensified. The shadow let out a hollow chuckle and removed his foot from Kid Flash's neck before kicking him roughly out of the way of the doorway into the corner of the room.

"Kid Flash!" he started towards him,

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Robin stopped mid stride and turned back towards the shadow entering a fighting stance, angry that he turned his back, but the shadow still hadn't moved from the doorway.

"Who are you?" Robin questioned, a chuckle echoed throughout the room and Robin felt a cold shiver go down his spine and the figure stepped out of the shadows. A lone eye locked onto Robin,

"You Robin, can call me Slade."

* * *

Outside in the compound no one could tell which side had the upper hand. Every time the team managed to knock the robots down they only got back up again adding even more force into their attacks, putting the team right back to square one. Sergeant Major Marco and his troop squadron remained on the side-lines, unable to fire their weapons not wanting to run the risk of shooting the heroes, so instead they sat and watched the fight unfold before them. They watch as the heroes moved about the enemy, they all looked so determined as they worked together almost as if they knew what each other needed by instinct. They needed no communication between each other while they fought; it truly was a sight to behold.

A scream ripped its way throughout the ranks and the soldiers turned to face the where the scream erupted. Two figures slumped to the ground as another robot ended their lives. All rifles were immediately turned and pointed at the new threat, "Men, open fire!" Marco commanded and his men happily obliged eager to avenge their comrades' deaths, it was time for the military to fight for their country.

* * *

If M'gann was aware of the sudden gunfire she didn't show it as she flew out of reach from the onslaught of attacks of her to opponents, she was beginning to tire but her stubbornness to loose was the one thing keeping her going. She flew high for a moment to see how the rest of the team were doing and blew a shy of relief. Everyone seemed ok from their positions, a little roughed up but still going strong.

M'gann drew her attention back to her own fight and used her telekinesis to throw the robot closest to her into the other and straight into a wall, the wall collapsed onto the robots burying them and they struggled to release themselves.

She paused and watched them struggle, welcoming the short break. All of a sudden a sharp pain raked its way through her mind and M'gann fell to the ground as Kid Flash forcibly left the mind link. She shook her head and raised herself on shaky legs as the robots continued to struggle. Once she composed herself she sent a telepathic message to Aqualad,

_"Kid Flash has been just been knocked unconscious and broken his link with the mind link."_

_"What about Robin_" he replied

_"I don't know"_

_"Can you try to contact him"_

M'gann nodded _"I'll try_" she placed her fingers to her forehead to help her concentrate,

"_Robin? What happened?"_

_"Miss M, I'm fine"_ was Robin's reply, _"Some guy has just came in, took Kid Flash by surprise and knocked him out. Don't worry about me though, I can take this guy out. Make sure to finish out there."_

"_Right, but be careful"_

M'gann picked up amusement from Robin through the mind link,

_"Always am"_

She cut off the conversation and replayed it back to Aqualad and then sent more debris down onto the Robots, her fight still had a long way to go.

* * *

Robin watched as 'Slade' walked into the light of the room. His uniform consisted of plain black shirt and trousers with steel toed boots. Strapped onto his thigh was a knife and on his back a sword and bo-staff were crossed, giving Slade easy access to them if necessary but also gave him room to move. His clothes were also fairly tight to give him flexibility and showed off his muscles and orange metal guards protected his arms and legs.

Slade was average in height and short compared to Batman but still looked extremely deadly. He held himself up tall and had an air of confidence that Robin could tell stemmed from experience. His face was concealed by a mask that covered his entire head. It consisted of two colours, black and orange which coordinated with his uniform. Black covered the right side of his mask and orange on the left, only one eye was visible on the right side of his mask, the other was concealed behind it. He seemed to look down onto Robin, emitting superiority just by looking at him. It made Robin feel uneasy, but he held fast.

Robin felt a smirk make its way onto his face.

"Slade huh? Never heard of you." If Robin intended it as an insult Slade took no notice,

"But I know of you" Robin's face fell.

"What do you mean?" Slade said nothing for a while and just watched him, contemplating. Slowly he began to pace around the room but kept his eye on Robin who just did the same, his muscles tense and ready for anything. Robin stole a quick glance at Kid Flash, he was still unconscious but his chest was rising and falling at a steady rate, a good sign.

"I've been watching you." Slade announced before he ran at Robin, his hand balled in a fist ready to punch him. Robin's eyes widened,

"Huh?" he said intelligently before dodging his attack. He immediately followed with a side kick of his own, directed at Slade's stomach but Slade grabbed his leg at the last minute and threw him across the room. Robin flipped over just before he hit the wall and used it as a spring board to push himself back at Slade, punching him in the face. Robin landed and swiftly went back in with a furry of attacks.

"Good Robin." Slade commented while blocking and dodging all of his attacks, which only made Robin frustrated. "You have great technique."

Robin remained silent and continued his attack. Increasing the speed and ferocity with each punch and kick but he just couldn't land a hit, Slade just kept on evading everything Robin threw at him. He let out an angry cry and managed to land a punch into Slade's stomach, pushing Slade back across the floor doubled over, grabbing his stomach.

Robin smiled; Slade's defence was down and could end it! With a battle cry Robin ran at Slade and jumped into the air intending to knock him out with an axe kick. Just as Robin's foot was going to make contact with Slade's defenceless head, his arm shot up with inhuman speed and grabbed Robin's leg, stopping his attack. Slade rose from his hunched over position and raised himself to his full height while still holding onto Robin's leg. Robin's eyes widened at what just happened and he hung upside down while Slade met his gaze.

"But your still very inexperienced and require a lot more training." With that Slade slammed Robin onto the ground in front of him, winding him. Robin gasped as the air was knocked out of him and struggled on the floor, desperate to get back onto his feet. Slade stood there and watched him, making no move to the computer to take the information.

Why wasn't he attacking? Why was he just standing there? Who was he? All these thoughts made their way through Robin's mind as he lay on the cold floor, recovering. Robin froze _"I've been watching you",_ his mind whirled as he thought about what Slade had said then the pieces clicked together in his head and he quickly raised onto his elbow and looked at Slade.

"You…" he huffed, "You were the one… in Gotham…with Scarecrow at City Hall." He raised himself further so he was on his knees; breathing was beginning to become easier now.

Slade's eye glinted in amusement and he folded his arms behind him,

"Very good Robin. Yes, I was the one who organised Scarecrow and his men to attack City Hall."

"Why?"

"So I could watch you, observe your skills and abilities. I must admit you did surprise me at how well you took out those thugs, I believe that things would have gone quite differently if your leg injury didn't play up."

"Thanks" Robin replied and he took in deep breath and rose on shaky legs to a standing position; he looked confused as he listened to what Slade was telling him.

"But why? Why the sudden interest in me?" Robin questioned.

"It's simple really. For some time now I have been searching for an apprentice, someone to follow in my footsteps and learn everything I know. And Robin, I have chosen you. Congratulations."

Robin still hadn't moved from his defensive position, but he could feel his shoulders shake as he let out a laugh, it echoed throughout the room.

"Is this why we received 'anonymous'" Robin used his fingers to quote "Tip offs from random thugs, so you could get me out here to 'recruit' me?"

Slade nodded, "Yes and I am in need of the information the government are storing here, but I will get to that in a minute."

Robin watched Slade for a moment before sighing.

"Well I'm honoured that you chose me, but I'm going to have to decline. I work with Batman; I will not work with, or become an apprentice to a criminal."

Slade did not look amused,

"I do not think you understand Robin, you have so much potential but Batman holds you back."

"Oh yeah? And how would you know? Batman has trained me to be the best that I can and I know that I am still way far off to being as good as him, but I will be one day. We are partners."

Slade silently regarded Robin for a moment, his head tilted to one side.

"Tell me Robin, are you sure that you and Batman are partners? He doesn't let you go against any big villains, does he? Seems to me that Batman sees you more as a _sidekick."_

Robin could feel himself become frustrated as Slade questioned Batman and his relationship, his voice began to rise.

"Gotham criminals are extremely dangerous; Batman's only looking out for me until I'm ready-"

"-or that he doesn't trust you," Slade interrupted. Robin froze as Slade spoke.

"What!?" Robin exclaimed, of course Batman trusted him, they were partners! "Of course Batman-"

"Then why has he banded you from patrol? Yes, I know all about your argument with Batman. How you were banded from missions, and how you sneaked onto this one without him knowing."

"But…how?" Robin asked quietly.

"That doesn't matter; all that does matter is that Batman doesn't trust you to have his back. Your abilities to him are not good enough to be his equal, you are weak; you are below him in his eyes and not worthy of his respect. But if you become my apprentice, I will give you what you deserve, respect, appreciation and the power and skills needed to never to be seen as weak ever again. You have so much potential and with my training, you will be the best there is."

Robin remained silent, and was slowly shaking his head. The only reason Batman banned Robin was because he disobeyed his order, not because he was too weak to help him, right? Batman respected him, helped give him justice for the death of his parents. They shared the same pain, the same past. They were the same, equals, right?

"No, you're wrong!" Robin shouted and drew his eskrima sticks. Slade calmly drew his bo-staff from his back and waited for Robin to begin round two.

He didn't have to wait long before Robin ran straight at him with his eskrima sticks raised, now fuelled by anger and aimed to strike Slade's head but he blocked it with his staff. Robin, still in momentum, kicked Slade in the face and spring boarded back onto his feet.

"Good, your even better when your angry" Slade commented and began his own attack. They were quick and swift and Robin was having trouble to block them all in time, let alone having time to counter attack. Robin flipped over Slade's head and attempted to kick his back, but Slade was faster and slammed his staff into the side of Robin's head, knocking him onto the ground for a second time.

"But you are also more predictable" Slade added.

* * *

Robin's fight with Slade had continued for another 10 minutes and Robin knew he wasn't going to last much longer. Slade had not allowed Robin any time to catch his breath and constantly coming at him with powerful attacks, what made it worse was the fact that Slade's talk had planted doubt into Robin's mind, and was struggling to keep focused.

"I am afraid Robin, that I am being pressed for time, so I will have to leave you to think about my offer and take the information and leave."

"Like hell you are! There is nothing to think about and you are not going to take the information." Robin retorted and increased his attacks, even though his face was covered, Robin could tell that Slade was smirking underneath. Robin could feel his anger rising even further and decided that he needed to end this fast, so he attempted to contact Aqualad through the mind link while he continued to fight.

_"Aqualad, can you hear me?"_

_"Loud and clear Robin."_

_"How is your end coming along?"_

_"We are getting nowhere unfortunately, these robots are extremely well made and none of us seem to be able to best them. I fear we are at a stale mate. How about you?"_

_"Not good. This guy I'm fighting doesn't seem to tire at all and is not giving me any chance to breathe. I'm nearly at my limit, so I really suggest that we use plan B."_

_"Are you sure Robin?"_ Aqualad sounded uncertain.

_"Yes, give everyone outside a seven minute warning. I'll set everything for then."_

_"Understood, and hurry"_

_"Will do."_

Robin terminated the conversation and remembered how plan B came to be.

* * *

_Aqualad had just finished informing the team on the formations and strategies that were going to be used in tonight's mission when a knock was head from the door._

_"Come in" Aqualad spoke and as the door opened the team all turned to greet the guest. It was Sergeant Major Marco._

_"Is there anything you need?" Aqualad enquired politely, speaking for everyone in the room._

_"Yes, there is."_

_"Then please…" Aqualad stated and gestured Marco to continue. Marco stood tall and looked at everyone one of the team before beginning._

_"I have faith in your team that you will do everything in your power to protect the information, but I have been given permission by higher ups to use plan B if you are not enough."_

_"And what is this plan B?" Robin asked._

_"I have been given permission to blow up the entire compound if necessary to protect the information."_

_"I am sure that will not be necessary, Sergeant Major Marco" Aqualad reasoned. Marco sighed in response._

_"I hope so too, but if it does come to that do not hesitate. This information is too important and dangerous to lose."_

_"Understood" Aqualad agreed._

* * *

Aqualad turned from his fight as soon as Robin and him finished their conversation and turned to inform his team and the military of the next stage.

"Everyone!" he shouted throughout the compound. "We are going to initiate plan B we have seven minutes to leave the compound before the explosions go off, everyone be quick."

No one argued with him and set off to get out of the compound as quickly as possible. The urgency seemed to increase everyone's desperation to finish their fight and get going. Aqualad turned to the Robot he was facing and used his water blades to try to slice it in half, the robot took the hits and it Aqualad grew increasingly frustrated as the hits he dealt to the his opponent didn't even dent. In a moment of pure instinct Aqualad ducked under an oncoming attack and stabbed the robot up where the armpit is. The robot sparked as electricity went flying from the wound Aqualad created before it fell to the ground dead. Aqualad wasted no time in sharing this discovery with his team and the military.

"Their weak points are underneath the armpit, stab it and it would go down instantly!" Aqualad shouted and the rest of the team quickly took the information on board and finished off their own opponents.

"Miss Martian you and I will take down the last remaining robot that's fighting Marco, everyone else we have four minutes before this place explode. I want you all to look for injured and help them out while we still can. Understood?"

Aqualad received yes's from everyone in his team and they all set off to work.

* * *

Robin had set off the timer on his glove computer earlier and was still fighting Slade; he glanced at his holographic screen, three minutes left. Robin flipped back from Slade to put some distance between them.

"Unfortunately for you Slade, this place is about to blow. I would hurry up and get out while you can."

Slade made no effort to move and just watched Robin.

"You really should consider my offer Robin" Was all he said. This confused Robin, didn't Slade want the information? He didn't seem bothered in the slightest about it, more concerned with Robin's answer.

From the corner of the room, Robin and Slade could hear a groan coming from Kid Flash as he sat up into a sitting position. Without taking his eyes off of Slade, Robin spoke,

"Nice of you to join us KF."

"I feel like I was hit with a sledge hammer" He grumbled,

"Yeah look. We kind of need to get out of here, the place is going to blow."

"Ok, ok." Kid Flash said as he got up, he looked up and went into a fighting stance, noticing Slade for the first time.

"Robin!"

"KF! We have got to get out, this place is going to blow in…" Robin glanced at his screen. "two minutes!"

Slade didn't take his eyes off of Robin, but release a sigh.

"Robin." He spoke and both boys went rigid. "We will continue this another time since this one was cut short. I will expect an answer by then." Slade then threw smoke pellets onto the floor and when the smoke cleared he was gone.

"What was that all about…" Kid Flash questioned.

"Not important right now, we need to get out. Thirty seconds left!"

"Right." Robin then got onto Kid Flash's back and the speedster sped them out of the compound, to meet the rest of the team. Aqualad and the team had successfully managed to get everyone remaining in the compound out and were now only waiting on Robin and Kid Flash.

Just as the boys made it to the gates of the compound an explosion lit up the sky in a mass of orange and red. Debrise flew everywhere and the blast from the explosion threw Kid Flash and Robin across the sand where they landed in a heap, unconscious.

**Xxxxxxxx**

**So what do you all think? **

**Review and let me know :)**

**See you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi,PhoenixxFlame here!**

**I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter and did anyone know it was going to be Slade?**

**Anyway I really enjoyed writing this chapter and i hope you enjoy reading it too! :)**

**xxxxxx**

Slade stood a mile off from the compound and watched as the fires continued to engulf it whole compound. Smoke bellowed up into the night sky and covered the moon, and a dull orange glow lit up the desert as the flames reflected off of the gathering cloud. He turned and walked away from the carnage, making his way behind the mountain to where a helicopter was waiting to pick him up. As soon as the pilot saw Slade he turned on the engines and the started the propellers, and Slade slowly made his way towards it. He was in no rush, as he knew that the heroes would be too busy with the explosion to notice him leaving.

As Slade entered the helicopter he noticed the on-board screen light up as his employer attempted to make contact with him. He let it ring for a while as he made himself comfortable while the helicopter took off before answering.

"Yes?" he questioned to the screen,

"Would you care to explain why you left the compound empty handed and allowed the place to be blown up? This mission was supposed to be covert in and out with no one noticing."

Slade held up a hand to silence the screen, and employer complied.

"Remain calm, I have already gathered the information you want on a previous night."

"Then why return tonight if you have already completed the mission?"

"Simple, this military operation is huge, by far the biggest operation the US have planned in the past 50 years. If we had done nothing then they would have become suspicious, by staging a failed attempt to steal the information it puts the US government in a false sense of security. They now believe that their secret is safe and you have an advantage over them."

The screen remained silent for a moment as he contemplated Slade's words.

"Very well, do you still wish for me to do as requested for you as agreed?"

Slade nodded in agreement towards the screen.

"Yes, I'll let you know nearer the time."

"Ok, if that is all deliver the information at the required place, then I will uphold my end of the bargain."

The screen shut off as soon as his employer finished speaking and Slade was left alone with his thoughts, the helicopter setting a steady beat as the propellers turned. It wasn't too long before his plan could be set into motion.

* * *

Robin's head pounded at a steady beat as he woke up on the cold desert sand. He tried not to move too much so to ease the pain and he let his mind wonder, but it was still foggy from the explosion…The explosion! Robin bolted up right from the sound and immediately regretted his decision, a giant wave of dizziness raced through him and he fell back down onto the sand in a heap. He breathed slowly in hope to ease the throbbing in his head and looked at the orange lit sky, going through all of the recent events.

Robots, surprise, team, Slade, confusion, explosion, Wally.

Once Robin stopped feeling like someone was playing a drum solo inside his head he checked himself for injuries. He was ok, with just a few cuts and bruises. Robin reached inside his utility belt and switched on his emergency beacon, now the rest of the team would find him within a few minutes. He took a deep breath and raised himself onto his feet, looking for Wally.

He found him lying face down in the sand a few feet away from where Robin stood, still unconscious. As Robin made his way towards Wally's form he noticed how his leg was bent in an impossible angle, Robin's face immediately fell. It was obvious to Robin that Wally had broken his leg, Wally was going to be out of action for a while, even with his increased healing ability, and Wally wasn't going to be pleased.

But what Robin was worried about more was that he was going to have to reset his leg before it started to heal around the injury and cause more damage, Robin grimaced from just thinking about it but he knew he couldn't wait for the rest of the team to arrive, the break was too bad and he could already see that it was beginning to heal. He knelt down next to Wally and gently shook his shoulder; quietly a groan could be heard as Wally shook his head from the sand and flipped himself over onto his back. His eyes burst open and he gasped as he moved his broken leg,

"Shit!" he cried and grabbed his leg, "Robin, what happened?"

"The compound blew up and threw us across the desert. I think you must have broken your leg when you landed."

"Ah man, this sucks. I mean look at it! It's all bent and broken at a funny angle."

"Yeah, I think I'm going to have to re break it again so it will heal at the right angle because of your increased healing abilities."

Wally sighed as he watched Robin look at his leg closely, "Yeah… it's already started to heal, and I'm going to have to do it soon before…" Robin trailed off but Wally understood.

"Just do it" he said through gritted teeth. Robin nodded and began to prepare as the bioship flew overhead from them. Robin paid it no notice as he carried on with what he was doing as everyone made their way over to them.

"Guys!" M'gann greeted. "We were so worried about you, we saw you running out of the compound and then the explosion. After that you were gone until we found Robin's beacon activate."

"Well, you can't keep us men down for long babe" Wally answered.

She came up to give them both a hug but stopped short as soon as she caught sight of Wally's leg.

"Oh Wally, your leg!" She cried. Artemis walked up beside M'gann and smirked.

"Wow, nice going there Baywatch." She taunted.

"Hey! Listen-" Wally began to argue back but was cut off short by Robin.

"-Not now, you two can argue later." Robin spoke with his best Batman tone; he turned to face Kaldur, who was just approaching with Conner. "Look, Wally has broken his leg bad and we need to reset it back before his body heals around it, causing more damage. I would leave it until we get back to Mount Justice but Wally is healing too quickly."

Kaldur nodded, "Ok, what do you need us to do?"

"Well first, I need you to hold Wally down; he's going to be thrashing around while I reset it. M'gann could you stay with him to try and keep him calm?" M'gann nodded, "Good. Once I've set it set it I'm going to wrap one of my eskrima sticks along Wally's leg to make a makeshift splint. But I need something for Wally to bite down on while I do it."

Artemis looked around and came back with a stick; "This will do." and gave it to Wally.

"There is no way I'm going to bite down on that!" he refused and Artemis shrugged.

"Fine but don't blame us when you bite your tongue off."

Wally visibly paled and took the stick without question, everyone took their positions around Wally. M'gann knelt next to Wally with her palm on his forehead, preparing to calm his mind, Superboy held Wally down by his shoulders and Kaldur his uninjured leg. Robin positioned himself at Wally' injured leg.

"On the count of three. One, two, Three!"

A sickening crunch was heard throughout the desert as Robin re broke Wally's leg and set it back into place. Wally let out a quick scream and immediately bit down onto the stick, almost breaking it in two. Everyone visible winced as they heard the crunch but held Wally down, disturbed at the sight. But Robin held his face stern and without emotion while he quickly and efficiently bandaged Wally's leg, he wrapped his eskrima stick as a splint quickly and pulled out some pain killers from his utility belt and gave them to Wally who downed them dry. Robin was too busy with Wally to notice but the team couldn't help but stare at him by how he handled the situation. Robin didn't even flinch as he re broke Wally's leg and patched it up, he was so calm and collected throughout the entire situation they could all see how great leader he would be in the future. But it scared them to think how a boy as young as Robin could handle things like this, it wasn't right.

Robin quickly finished and stood, looking down on his work.

"That will do for now, but we're gonna have to get back to base soon to check everything's alright." He spoke while putting data onto his wrist computer.

"Right" M'gann spoke and brought the bioship closer to the heroes. Artemis helped Wally up and made their way into the bioship, Wally leaning on her and soon everyone was in and settled as M'gann flew them all home.

* * *

The journey home was quiet as everyone relaxed from the tense mission. Sure they had successfully kept Slade from gaining the information, but the success had cost them the compound and had resulted in Wally breaking his leg. No matter what happened they were going to be criticised when they got back. But no one was as worried or as hopeful as Robin. He was really hoping that Batman would look at the success more than flaws of the mission and let him back on patrol.

"Psst" the sound came from his right. Robin swivelled in his chair and saw Wally leaning in close from his chair to get Robins attention, he held his hand around his mouth to stop everyone else from seeing. Robin shook his head at the effort to keep their conversation a secret, being in a small ship and a teen with super hearing it was hard to speak in private. Wally really could be an idiot sometimes.

"Hmm?"

"We need to talk." Robin played ignorant,

"About what?"

"The guy in the computer room, what did he mean when he expected an answer? Who was that guy?" Wally questioned. Robin's eyebrow twitched as everyone else turned their attention to the conversation.

"What does he mean Robin?" Aqualad joined in.

"Nothing really, after Wally got knocked unconscious he was just taunting me. You know," Robin shrugged and swivelled so his chair was facing the front again. "The usual criminal speech. Nothing special."

He signalled that the conversation was over and looked out of the window, Kaldur and Wally said no more, thinking he was just tired. But Robin didn't know why he still didn't tell them about Slade but he just couldn't bring himself to do it; it must have been his pride that made him so reluctant. Also, what Slade said scared him slightly, not the words themselves but the fact that Robin had actually considered what Slade had said to be true. Of course they weren't, Robin wasn't weak and Batman trusted him to have his back. He shook his head and redirected the conversation in the bioship, just happy to be in his friends company, laughing and smiling, glad that this mission was over.

* * *

They landed soon after back at base and they all left the bioship with smiles on their faces, even Superboy managed a smirk. Their spirits were high and their laughs could be head echoing throughout the cave as they made their way down the hall, walking slowly so Wally could keep up with them as he hobbled along being supported once again by Artemis. Robin noticed this and leaned over towards Aqualad,

"How long do you think it will take before they realise how much they like each other?" he whispered. Kaldur gave a quiet chuckle and knew immediately who Robin was talking about,

"I do not know, they are both quite stubborn so it could take a while."

"I bet you five bucks they get together within the month" Robin challenged

"You're on." They shook hands and continued on their way, each giving glances to the unknowing pair. They continued their way down the hall but slowed and became silent as Batman came into view. The team carefully walked up towards the heroes once they caught the deadly glare on Batman's face and they could feel the temperature of the room drop by a few degrees.

"Team" Batman began and the young heroes instantly stiffened, unsure how the end of the sentence was going to end. "Go hit the showers and take Kid Flash to the medical wing, you will be debriefed momentarily. But now, Robin and I need to talk."

Robin gulped and stood frozen on the spot as Batman's glare rested on him. The rest of the team were surprised, they were not expecting that and were hesitant to leave Robin alone with Batman, they could see that Robin looked nervous. Kaldur took a step forward,

"Batman, what is this-"

"-I said leave" Batman spoke dangerously without taking his eyes off of Robin. Kaldur didn't move but looked towards Robin, as did the rest of the team. All Robin could do was nod, not trusting himself to speak and slowly the team made their way out of the hall, leaving the dynamic duo alone.

Once the team were out of sight Wally halted them

"Wally, what are you doing!? We can't listen in, can you imagine what Batman would do if he caught us!" Artemis said in harsh whisper.

"Think about." He looked around the group, "Robin's been acting really weird lately and refuses to let us in, this might be our only opportunity to find out."

"But your leg needs tending to." Kaldur tried to reason,

"My leg will be fine for a few minutes, come on." A silenced followed as everyone considered what Wally said.

"Let's do it" Superboy spoke up and shrugged, "He's got a point."

"I agree," Kaldur included, "This is the only way we will know." M'gann and Artemis reluctantly agreed as well and soon they were all settled around the corner, waiting for one of the Dynamic Duo to speak.

* * *

There was a heavy silence as Batman continued to watch Robin while the rest of Young Justice left the hall. Robin tried to hold his ground but couldn't help but shift uncomfortably on his feet under his mentors gaze; he knew he was in trouble.

"You disobeyed me." Batman stated and Robin bit his tongue to prevent him from speaking, thinking it best for Batman to get what he wanted to say over with first.

"I gave you an order specifically telling you that you were banned from the mission and you deliberately disobeyed me." Robin remained silent and looked down to the floor while Batman continued to watch him. Meanwhile out of sight the team gave each other startled looks, they had no idea that Robin snuck onto the mission.

"Have you not understood anything I have told you the past few weeks?" again Robin remained silent and Batman's eyes narrowed.

"Robin, answer me." Robin raised his head and met Batman's gaze.

"I don't see why you're so angry; sure I snuck onto the mission when you told me not to. But the mission was a success, wasn't it?"

"A success!? You call that a success? You managed to blow up the entire compound, allow the thief to get away AND one of your team ended up with a broken leg. Tell me how the mission was a success?"

"We managed to keep the information safe, didn't we?" Robin argued back.

"But not through you own skills, you had to result blowing up the compound because your abilities were not enough on their own, I thought I trained you better than that."

"Does that matter?"

"Yes Robin." He didn't elaborate, but Robin understood what he meant.

"Look. I only went against your order to prove to you that you can trust me, to show you that I can handle it." Robin couldn't understand why Batman was making such a big deal out of this and he could feel his anger rising.

"Trust you!" Batman shouted but he stopped himself and took a moment to compose himself. "Robin" he started again, calmer and quieter. "How do you expect me to trust you when you disobey me over and over again? I give you simple instructions and you ignore them, I only have your best interests at heart, especially with that man taking an interest in you. But still you go anyway; you're leaving me no choice Robin."

Robin at this point was turning paler and paler. This wasn't the way this conversation was supposed to turn out, Batman was supposed to see how strong Robin was, see how well Robin could cope. Not see the exact opposite, loose trust in him even more. His eyes widened at Batman's words, something wasn't right.

Batman had paused looking at Robin, the look in his eyes told Robin that he was trying to make a difficult decision. Robin dare not breath at this moment, worried at what Batman was about to say.

Batman sighed

"I'm pulling you from being Robin."

Robin took in a sharp breath,

"What!?" he cried, disbelief written all over his face.

"I said I'm pulling you from being Robin, at least for a few months. Until I can trust that you to follow my orders without question again."

"No! You can't do that!"

"I can and I have Robin, you left me no choice. Until I can trust you, you're off patrol, missions, meeting Young Justice, and being in the Bat Cave."

Robin shook his head, speechless. No, if he didn't have Robin Dick was nothing to Bruce. Robin was everything to him; he earned the right to wear the mask. Robin suddenly felt anger grow inside him; Bruce had no right to take it away from him.

"You have no right to take this away from me, I worked hard for this title! If I stop being Robin, who's going to watch your back?!" he shouted at Batman.

"How am I supposed to trust you to have my back in the field if I can't trust you to do something here, when you keep disobeying me?" Robin was silent. He couldn't find any words to help make this situation better; he couldn't trust himself to say the right thing. Batman studied Robin for a moment before reaching a hand out to him.

"It's not forever Robin-" Robin slapped is hand out of the way and glared at him, tears forming around the edge of his mask.

"-it might as well be. All I have ever done is train to be the best so I can to help you on patrol, fight by your side, you can't just throw me to the side like this!"

"Robin-"

"-No, I've had enough. I'm leaving."

Batman did nothing and just watched Robin storm down the hall, in his mind believing that Robin needed some time to himself, to come to terms with his decision. Batman had no idea how broken Robin was on the inside, even if he didn't show it physically. So he remained silent, he had nothing else to say.

The Boy Wonder raced out of the room and ran straight into his friends and stood dazed for a moment before he even realised who exactly he ran into. He just stood there breathing heavily with his fists clenched by his sides, pain written all over his face. M'gann stood and reached out to envelop him into a hug but he just shrugged her off and glared at the wall.

"Look, Robin-"

He held up a hand to stop her and gritted his teeth, still not meeting any of their gazes.

"I just want to be alone right now." He got out and shouldered his way past everyone, not bothering with an apology. No one minded though, seeing that Robin was too wrapped up in his own world to be polite and silently watched him carry on his path down the corridor. The team watched him pause at the end of the corridor leading to the motorcycles, they saw his head dip slightly and his fists shake. Without warning Robin let out an angry yell and slammed his fist into the side of the wall, cracking the concrete.

M'gann gasped, Artemis and Wally flinched and Conner and Kaldur watched on as they heard the crack of the punch, unsure of if it was Robin's knuckles producing the noise or the wall itself. But Robin just stood there looking unhurt before disappearing into the hanger, leaving the team in silence as they heard an engine roar and tires screech as Robin raced out into the night.

Robin raced down the motorway well over the speed lim

* * *

it as he weaved in and out of traffic. His mind raced through the argument over and over again, and he felt himself get angrier and angrier, his grip on the handle bars of his bike getting tighter.

'_How am I supposed to trust you?'_

Robin shook his head and increased his speed.

'_You're leaving me no choice Robin…'_

"No!" Robin cried as he raced passed a 'Welcome to Gotham!' which obviously seen better days and he continued on his current course, no real idea where he was going; anywhere where Robin could think.

'_I'm pulling you from being Robin.'_

An angry yell tore out of his throat and he slammed on the brakes of his motorbike, the tires screeching in protest. The bike came to an abrupt halt and Robin quickly took off his helmet and threw it on the ground, he breathed in and out slowly in an attempt to calm himself down.

After a moment he looked up to have a look at his surroundings, unknowing where he stopped and couldn't help but give a smirk; he had managed to find his way straight into the heart of Crime Alley of Gotham without even realising it. The place was dark and rubbish was everywhere, graffiti filled the brick walls, leaving hardly any space clear. Men in rags were huddled around burning oil drums talking in low voices, eyeing everyone who walked past with suspicion evident in their body language.

He walked his bike into an alley turned off the engine and placed on its security measures'; making sure it was well hidden so no one would steal it. As soon as that was sorted he pulled out his grappling hook and sped off in search of someone to take his anger out on.

Robin had been patrolling for ten minutes and it wasn't long before he heard a scream emitting from an alley way. He landed on the edge of the building and saw a woman running for her life, trying to escape three drunken men.

The woman reached the end of the alley and crouched into a ball with her hand raised in weak attempt to protect herself.

"Please! S-Stay a-away!" She stuttered fearfully. The men continued to stagger their way towards her.

"Oh, what's the matter Doll? We only want to play." One of them said,

"Yeah, come with us. We'll show you a good time." Another taunted. And the woman only huddled in on herself even more, desperate to get away.

"I don't think the lady wants to play!" Robin shouted and landed in the mouth of the alley. The men turned and the woman's head shot up at the sound of his voice. The man in the centre of the trio squinted at him,

"Who the hell are you?" he questioned.

"Shit… I think it's the Bat's brat!" another said a little fearful, taking a step back.

"Ya don't say…" the centre man spoke. "Where's Batman? Aren't you a little young to be out by yourself?" Robin's eyes narrowed.

"So you are by yourself! It's a little late past your bed time, don't ya think?."

Robin just sighed and cracked his knuckles.

"Look." Robin spoke low and deadly, "You have caught me in a really bad mood, so why don't you just run along now and I won't have to place any of you in the hospital."

The middle man spat onto the ground,

"Little brat! Let's see how you like this!" He raced at Robin with his fist raised high. Robin smirked and dodged out of the way before kicking him in his side, slamming him into the wall dazed. He grabbed a lead pipe from the ground and quickly stood. The man turned to his mates,

"Come on then, go get him." One of the men let out a yell and ran at Robin, but Robin quickly grabbed him and used his momentum against him, throwing him into the man with the pipe, knocking them both onto the ground in a heap. Robin turned to the third man but he ran out of the alley as fast as he could, without looking back.

Robin shrugged and turned back to the other two. They were moaning and slowly getting onto their feet; Robin let out a smile and advanced onto the men again. He was feeling better already; who said violence didn't solve anything?

Within a few minutes Robin had the last two men subdued and tied up. He wiped his hands and made his way over to the women who was still huddled in ball,

"Hey lady?" he spoke softly so he didn't startle her. She didn't respond so he reached out and gently touched her shoulder, she immediately let out a small scream and her head shot up but as soon as he saw it was Robin she burst into tears and grabbed him into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh God thank you! I was so scared, I-I thought they going to r-r-rape me! Thank you so so much!"

Robin quickly pulled out of the embrace and placed his hand her shoulder again.

"Hey its nothing." Robin gave a smile, and she smiled back grateful, wiping away her tears on her sleeve. Once she had finished she looked back up at Robin and her face dropped, turning fearful once again.

Robin turned to look at what she saw but was too slow as a crowbar came crashing down onto the back of his head and he fell down to the ground hard as the woman let out a scream.

"Nighty-night Bird Boy." a voice echoed throughout the alley as he felt himself slip into unconsciousness.

**xxxxxxxx**

**So... **

**What did you all think? I hope you enjoyed the fight beween Batman and Robin, it took me a while to write because I wanted to get it right.**

**and does anyone know who knocked Robin out?**

**I hope you all enjoyed it, Review and let me know! :)**

**See you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi, PhoenixxFlame here.**

**I'm glad you all are enjoying the story so far, and thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate them :)**

**Also just a little heads up for this chapter, there is going to be some Robin torture. So just giving you all some warning just in case you're not into that stuff.**

**I think that's everything so get reading and leave a review!**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter,**

**PhoenixxFlame**

**xxxxxxxxxxxx**

Bruce sat in the Batcave working intently on the large computer; bringing up old case files, sort and sifting through them and updating them when needed. He had arrived back an hour after Dick had left Mount Justice and had gone to work straight away, not even bothering with heading up to the mansion to greet Alfred. He was too worked up from his argument with Dick, and so instead busied himself with extra work.

Footsteps were soon heard echoing throughout the cave as Alfred made his way down with a tray of tea.

"Good evening Master Bruce how was your evening?" he asked pleasantly, while laying the tray down on a table beside the computer. Bruce only sighed,

"Not well Alfred" Alfred continued to prepare the tea, but lifted an eyebrow in Bruce's direction.

"Oh?" Bruce leaned back in his chair.

"Dick left me no choice but to pull him from being Robin today."

"Ahh" Alfred placed down the spoon and passed the teacup over. "I take it this is why Master Richard hasn't made it home yet?"

"Yes, he didn't take it well and stormed off on his R cycle." Bruce shook his head. "Alfred… I don't know what I'm going to do with him, every time I try to keep him from harm's way he disobeys me and runs straight back in." Bruce turned his chair to fully face Alfred. Alfred saw on Bruce's face a look that didn't suit him, a look of uncertainty. He remained silent as Bruce retold his argument with Dick. "Tell me I did the right thing." Bruce half pleaded.

Alfred remained silent while thinking over the situation, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"I believe…that your decision was rash but at the time necessary. You may have been a little harsh on the boy; he wasn't the only one who used to go off if they didn't agree with what people were telling him. You were just as bad, still are if you ask me." He joked at the end and saw Bruce's lip curl into an amused smirk.

"I think that you just give him time to come to terms with it."

He watched Bruce for a moment before continuing when he didn't say anything.

"When he comes home sit down and have a talk with him. Not as Batman and Robin but as Bruce and Richard, keep it civil and he will come round eventually. You just need to make it clear that it's not permanent."

Silence followed as Bruce took in what Alfred said.

"Right," Bruce smiled, "Thanks Alfred."

"Pleasure as always, Master Bruce." He tilted his head to Bruce and made his way back upstairs with the tray to begin cooking dinner.

* * *

Robin slowly began to stir from unconsciousness and let out a hiss of pain as his head began to throb, he was beginning to get fed up with his head injuries, he seemed to be getting them more and more frequently.

Robin tried to move from his uncomfortable position and realised with annoyance that he was bound to a chair, with his wrists and ankles tied by rope. Robin tried to twist his arms to get more space between him and the chair but winced as the ropes dug into his skin so instead he moved his fingers to release the tiny knife in his gloves to cut away at it only to discover that his gloves had been taken away, along with his shoes and utility belt. He sighed realising that all attempts for escape were gone for now.

Instead he brought his attention to his attention to his surroundings. He was placed in the centre of an empty room with no windows and it was cold and smelled of damp. The room was dark, so much so that Robin could only make out the shape of the door in front of him. Robin had no idea where he was and had no idea who had kidnapped him, so all he could do now was sit and wait for his kidnapper to make an appearance.

Robin didn't have to wait long before he heard noise from behind the door, his head by this point had dulled to an ache at the back of his head where he was struck and his muscles were stiff. Robin looked up expectantly as he heard lock click open and the door swing wide, the sudden light forced Robin to close his eyes and cringe away, unable to see his visitor.

He blinked and slowly began to pry his eyes open when a deep throat chuckle could now be heard from the doorway; it was quiet at first but quickly grew into insane laughter. It made Robin freeze and all the blood drain from his face. No, not him!

He forced his eyes open to find a figure hunched with laughter, a ruined purple suit covered his body and greasy green hair clung to his head as his body spasmed.

"Y-your face!" the figure cried pointing wildly in his direction, still doubled over. "P-p-price- hahaha! Priceless!"

Robin felt a stab of fear as the figure continued to laugh and began to tug on his bindings once again, this time with a little more force.

Slowly the figure began to stand up straight and held his hands in the air.

"Wow wow wow Boy Blunder, take it easy! Aren't ya happy to see your Uncle J?"

The figure chuckled, his pasty white face wide with a creepy grin.

"Joker" Robin spat out.

"The one and only!" He cried, lifting his hands high into the air and gave a twirl, Robin remained silent with a scowl on his face as he watched the madman dance around the room. After a full circle he paused and gave Robin a look.

"Did you know Bird Boy? I was walking throughout Gotham last night on a lovely little stroll, littering and terrorising a few people, you know the usual. When all of a sudden one of my men comes running up to me yelling about a certain bird. Now, I thought to myself. What sort of bird flies this late night? And then it hit me! I raced into the alley and lo and behold; there was little Boy Wonder all by himself working alone, beating up two of my men. I just couldn't miss this opportunity, so I took it! And here we are."

"What the hell do you want joker?" Robin spat and was rewarded with slap to the face.

"Language Birdbrain! But like I said, I just saw an opportunity and took it! I have no real plan, I was just missing you is all. It's been so long since we've had a nice little chat."

A large toothy grin was still on his face but Robin just grunted in response.

"Oh come on Robin I just want to have some fun!"

"Yeah well I'm not in the mood." Joker huffed,

"Well someone's a little grumpy today; looks like you need something to cheer you up. What to do, what to do!" He began muttering to himself. "We could do each other's makeup! No… that won't do, talk about the girls we like!? No…that's rubbish. Tell each other stories…Nah that's boring…." He snapped his fingers.

"Oh oh I have an idea!" Robin sat still as the Joker began to search through all his pockets with enthusiasm. Soon enough the Joker began to chuckle once again as he produced a pack of cards from the inside pocket of his suit.

"How about a game of cards?" Robin frowned as he watched the Joker start to shuffle them, the smile still present.

"No thanks, cards aren't really my thing." Robin replied.

"You know, that's really a shame, because cards really can be a lot of fun!"

He then proceeded to throw the first card in deck straight into Robin's thigh. Robin let out a yelp in surprise but quickly gritted his teeth from any further outbursts, he should have known the cards were going to be made out of steel. Robin tried not to move his leg too much and he pulled at his bindings eager to remove the card lodged there. Joker let out a laugh and threw another card, this time into Robin's arm and he groaned but refused to scream, if he did Robin would feel like he lost the fight and let Joker win; he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. So instead he gritted his teeth as each one pierced his skin and closed his eyes, he didn't want to watch as Joker threw the steel cards at him.

Joker saw the pained look on Robin's face and couldn't help but laugh each time his face scrunched up in pain as cards littered his body, groaning in protest. He was going to have to start kidnapping the Boy Wonder more often, this was so much fun! But unfortunately his fun was being cut short as he ran out of cards to throw.

"Damn, I knew I should have bought a second set." He said stomping his foot like a little kid and walked over to where Robin was sat. He leaned in so close to his face that Robin could point out every horrible detail, from his cracked lips to his rotten yellow teeth. Robin refused to move or squirm and met his gaze with a glare of his own. Robin had no choice but to breath in the Joker's rotten breath and his eyes narrowed as his temper rose, he wasn't in the mood for Joker's games.

"You don't mind if I take these back do you?" Robin's eyes widened slightly at how low and dangerous Joker's voice became and without waiting for a replay Joker roughly grabbed the card in Robin's arm and yanked it out, forcing a hiss to escape from between his already gritted teeth. Joker frowned and continued to pull the cards out, some quickly and some slowly, sometimes he made sure to drag the card across Robin's skin before taking it out; but Robin still refused to let out a scream.

"Come on Boy Blunder, you're making this boring! You gotta sing for me, sing as loud as you can!"

He laughed and threw his hands in the air, bloody cards in tow, spinning in a circle. Suddenly he stopped and placed a hand to his chin in thought.

"Hmmm, I don't know…" He mumbled to himself and then he clicked his fingers and turned back to face Robin. "I got it! Stay right there and don't move, I've got some friends I want you to meet!" He then ran out of the room and locked the door, leaving Robin alone in the dark, a cold shiver ran down Robin's back as a deep sense of foreboding filled the young hero, he didn't like the sound of meeting Joker's friends.

Robin counted to ten before slumping back into his chair sucking in deep breaths of air, his body was burning all over and blood was pouring from the wounds the cards had inflicted. He couldn't believe his luck being kidnapped by the Joker. He struggled in his binds again and let out a curse, angry at himself, this wasn't going to help show Bruce that he could take care of himself and would probably increase the time he wasn't allowed to be Robin.

But he couldn't think of that right now, he needed Batman and he knew that he would come to save him, Robin had no idea how long he was unconscious for but he believed that Batman would come through that door any minute and take him home to Alfred. Then they would sort the Robin situation properly, after this was over.

But Robin felt a cold knot form in his stomach; he left the mountain in a rage and Bruce may feel that he is just letting off steam for a while. It could be hours before Bruce realised that he was missing and even longer until he realised who had kidnapped him. Robin shook his head, convincing himself that it didn't matter. What mattered was, was the fact that Bruce would come for him eventually. Robin just prayed that it wouldn't be too late. Suddenly the door slammed open and Joker made another appearance wheeling in a tray full of items.

"So, ready for another round of fun? I brought all my friends with me and they're all eager to get to know you." Joker pointed to each item on the tray. "This time I can promise you, it's gonna last much longer than before." He said menacingly.

* * *

Bruce was beginning to get worried, it had been three hours now and Dick had still not managed to arrive back home. He had not contacted anyone since he left the mountain and didn't tell anyone where he was going, and Bruce was contemplating whether or not to go out and find him. Soon Alfred made his way back down into the cave with another tray of tea.

"Has Master Richard still not arrived back home?"

"Not yet, I'm beginning to get worried."

"Are you going to go after him?"

Bruce turned in his chair to face Alfred.

"You think I should?"

Alfred watched Bruce for a moment before replying,

"Maser Bruce, the boy may have left angry and frustrated, but he also may have left confused and feeling alone. He's still a child and he needs someone to talk to, he needs you Master Bruce, even if he doesn't show it."

Bruce shook his head and stood from his chair, a small smile graced his face.

"Once again Alfred you're right and I'm wrong"

"Don't blame yourself, Master Bruce. You can't help it."

He joked and Bruce laughed,

"What would I do without you?"

"Not much I would imagine, still lying in bed unable to move from your injuries. It's not an easy job keeping you in good condition, and you don't help yourself."

"That's very true."

Bruce replied while bringing up a map of Gotham onto the screen of the computer.

Bruce typed in an order and two red dots appeared onto the map, both were tracers on Dick's R cycle and Utility belt. They were too blocks away from each other. He turned to face Alfred.

"Right, I'll be off then." Alfred nodded,

"Good luck, Master Bruce. Bring Master Richard home safely."

Bruce nodded and pulled on his cowl before jumping into the Bat Mobile, driving off into the night.

Alfred remained in the cave for a while, watching the spot where Bruce disappeared into the shadows. He gave a quiet chuckle to himself. Bruce and Dick were so very similar in many ways; it was funny to see how they struggled to communicate with each other sometimes. But Alfred knew that they would be alright; they would get through this and make it out ok, together.

* * *

Robin let out a cry as another blow smashed against his side. Joker thought it would be fun to bring out his trusty crowbar and smash Robin to bits. He had thrown Robin out of his chair first and tied his arms and legs together while he was lying on the floor, 'so he could get every angle' was Joker's choice of words.

Blow after blow rained down onto Robin's body and he could hear bones snap under the force of them, his skin was beginning to turn an ugly shade of blue and the crowbar turned red with Robin's blood.

Joker had been at this for half an hour without stopping and Robin was beginning to reach breaking point. Joker laughed continuously as he hit Robin, and the creepy laugh echoed throughout Robin's ears even after Joker stopped. He had to hold on, Batman would come, he always came and saved him.

Robin was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't even realise that Joker had stopped beating him until he spoke.

"You know, this has been fun but I gotta go."

Robin squirmed on the floor to look up at him and winced as his body protested, as soon as he lay on his back Joker stood on his stomach and pushed down, placing all of his weight onto Robin. Robin gasped, and tried push his foot off, but Joker was too strong and he was too weak so the foot did not move off. Joker let out a giggle and leaned down further onto Robin,

"But don't worry, I'll be back later on and we'll have even more fun. I promise." His face contorting into the most malicious smile he could manage and then kicked Robin, slamming him into the back wall. He coughed as the wind was knocked out of him but otherwise didn't move, and Joker slammed the door shut leaving him alone once again.

Pain filled Robin every time he breathed and he was sure that he had at least cracked a few ribs, maybe even broken some and his arms and legs were beginning to go numb from the amount of beatings he received. Joker had left his face alone, so he was able to see clearly and his head didn't hurt but every time he moved his body erupted in pain. The bindings on his wrists and ankles were too tight and he could feel the ropes bite into his skin, causing ribbons of blood race down his hands.

His body began to shiver due to the loss of blood and how cold the room's temperature was, and his muscles were beginning to ache. Robin was a mess and he knew he couldn't do anything the way he was now.

He could feel his chest tighten as panic began to set in, what if Batman couldn't find him? What if he was too late? Bruce probably didn't even know that Joker had kidnapped him, would he be left with Joker forever.

Robin mentally slapped himself. Don't be stupid, now wasn't the time to panic, it was the worse time to panic. He had to remain alert and look out for any chance to escape. But it was difficult and Robin could already feel his body begin pull him into unconsciousness.

Please come, Robin thought into the dark, his eyelids becoming heavy. I don't know how much I can handle, please come soon…

Then Robin slipped into the comforting darkness.

**Xxxxx**

**So….What do you guys think?**

**You've got to love Alfred, he's one of the best characters in my opinion so I hope I did him justice.**

**Review and let me know what you think!**

**See you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi!**

**PhoenixxFlame here. Just want to thank everyone for the reviews for the previous chapter.**

**I don't know whether to be happy or slightly disturbed that you all loved the previous chapter. Poor Robin, it seems like people enjoy reading about your pain ;) **

**Anyway here's the next update for the next chapter,**

**I hope you all enjoy!**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Batman raced across the rooftops of Gotham city as he made his way towards where Robin's tracer marked his location, although his earlier talk with Alfred calmed him Bruce still had a bad feeling that he couldn't shake.

He had abandoned using the Bat mobile a while ago due to too many turns in the road to make good time, so he hid it in an alley way before taking flight onto the roofs.

Batman looked back at the tracer on his wrist and frowned, Robin had not move from his location for over half an hour since Batman first turned it on and it did nothing to settle Bruce's nerves.

As Batman pulled out his grappling gun to reach a taller building he heard the distant rumble of thunder, it was so faint Batman wasn't sure if he had imagined and as he glanced to the night sky he saw that it was overcast, the bright stars hidden from view. He shrugged it off and quickened his place, more eager to find Robin. Soon, he felt the first drop of rain splash on his face, cool and refreshing as he continued his way now only a few blocks away from Robin's location.

Suddenly his ears were overcome with a huge crash as a roll of thunder boomed overhead, deafening him. Batman threw himself over the rooftop and down into the alley where Robin's tracer lead him to.

He landed neatly on the dirty road and straightened to his full height. The alley was quiet, everyone who had any sense had already left and made their way to find some form of shelter. But unfortunately for Batman, he couldn't retire to the warmth of manor until he knew that Robin was safe. He could feel dread rise in his chest as he pulled out the tracer, it still hadn't moved from its previous location and was directing Batman to the nearby dumpster, with speed that The Flash would have admired he was opening the lid and staring inside.

The rain began to hammer down onto Gotham city and the thunder roared as Batman could do nothing but stare inside, his breath becoming shallow. Despair filled him as his hands began to shake when he reached in and pulled the object out. He couldn't believe it, only a few hours ago Robin had been alive and well and now…Batman wasn't sure. He didn't know, he had no idea what had happened and now something had happened to Robin. Why did he let Robin go off alone straight after their argument? Robin was angry and confused and Batman just let him leave. He should have known something would happen; it was obvious Robin wouldn't be thinking straight at that time.

Batman turned and walked out of the alley, questions began to rack their way back and forth in his mind and he had no idea of the answers, how could he have been so careless, Robin was in trouble or worse and Bruce knew that he was to blame.

* * *

The first thing Robin was aware of when he came to from unconsciousness was the enormous pain that tore throughout his entire body as he moved around on the floor. His muscles ached from being stuck in the same position for too long and pain still fluttered through his chest as he breathed in and out. Yep, there were definitely some broken ribs. Robin's cheek rested on the cool floor of his cell and Robin closed his eyes, trying to take his mind off of the pain.

He still couldn't believe how much he still depended on Batman; he was useless at the moment with no way out and no choice but to wait for his mentor to come and save him once again, just like when he was nine years old. Disappointment filled Robin as he realised that Batman was speaking the truth about trusting him, how was Batman supposed to trust someone who couldn't get out on his own? Why should he trust someone who can't take care of themselves? All that time Robin spent training was for nothing, moving away from Batman to work on his own team was for nothing. Batman didn't see Robin any differently. To Batman, Robin was still a child who needed to be kept away from dangerous men, even if Robin had his own team. Robin thought that his time spent with Young Justice helped to show Batman that he was strong and capable to function without him, but he was wrong. But Robin loved working with Young Justice, they were his second family and he would do anything for them, there was nothing that they couldn't do together. He hoped Batman would see that.

Robin groaned as his head began to pound and so he twisted his head so his forehead was pressed to the cool floor, helping to sooth him and calm his exasperated thoughts. He began to twist again in his bindings, his muscles were cramping up and his wrists burning, but surprise filled Robin as he felt his wrists begin to move more freely as the space between them grew. A surge of hope rushed through him as he came to a realisation, the ropes must have loosened while Joker continued to torture him but he was too weak to realise at the time. Robin quickly undid the binds around his wrists and moved to free his legs before raising himself onto his feet and do some stretches.

It hurt, Robin wasn't going to lie. Every time he moved his muscles protested and every now and then a sharp pain raced through him when Robin moved a particularly tender part of his body. But with the glimmer of hope that he could escape right in front of him, Robin pushed his body and ignored the pain, making his way to the door and resting his ear upon it; trying to see if e could hear any movement from beyond the door.

A plan of action went through his head as he continued to listen through the door. It was quite a simple plan; as soon someone came through that door, jump attack them, race to the outside of where he was being held captive, work out where he is, contact one of the team to come and find him and escape. Robin cringed at the thought of contacting Batman to find him, he knew he was being ridiculous and maybe a little selfish, but he couldn't help it. He just didn't think he could handle the disappointed look in Batman's eye knowing he screwed up.

Quietly but steady growing louder Robin could here footsteps approaching his room, along with a sound of a tray being wheeled. Robin involuntary shivered, realising Joker was bringing more of his 'friends' for Robin to meet.

* * *

The remaining members of Young Justice sat on the green sofas in silence. They had all remained at the base after both Batman and Robin had left but they had not spoken a word to each other about them, still unable to come to terms with what had happened.

They were all quite shocked to find out so much of what happened in Robin's life at the moment they didn't realise. They're his teammates and they had no idea what was going on, they didn't push to try and find out what was really wrong with Robin. And now, they didn't really know. So instead they all left and went to bed, while Wally got his leg looked at. Not speaking of what happened.

So now they all sat round on the sofas, all wanting to talk about what had happened but no one knowing how to start it off. M'gann was the first to break the silence.

"Do you think Robin's going to come back?" She spoke quietly.

"I don't know. I mean, most likely yes but that was one hell of an argument last night. It might be a while before either of them come back." Wally replied, head resting on his hands.

"I've never heard Batman so angry before, it was terrifying." Artemis added, arms folded over her chest.

"How did we not see what was wrong with Robin? It was obvious something was wrong and we didn't do anything" Kaldur spoke.

"I don't know, but whatever was up with Robin, Batman was way too harsh." Superboy growled.

"Well there's not much we can do about it now. We hardly know anything about both Batman and Robin. Where they live, what they do, who they are for that matter." M'gann spoke. They all remained silent for a moment, each in their own thoughts. It was true they knew nothing about Robin, even though they had all been together for a year.

"I believe we should try to get answers. Next time either of them enters the cave, we should find out then." Kaldur concluded, coming to a decision. They all nodded in response; there was nothing much else they could do.

After another moment of silence, Red Tornado's voice echoed throughout the cave.

"Team, report for mission debrief." The team was hesitant at first but then rose from their seats. It felt weird not going on a mission with Robin, sure Batman and Robin sometimes went off to do their own thing, but knowing that this wasn't the case felt strange to them.

Wally groaned, knowing he was going to have to be left out due to his leg but stood with the others and made their way to be debriefed, they would continue their discussion about Robin later.

* * *

The Joker however was feeling great. He had loads of fun yesterday with his favourite bird and was eager to continue today, he was practically skipping on his way to Robin's cell. He had a whole tray filled with new toys he was itching to try out on the Boy Wonder and made a silent vow to himself that today he was going to make the boy scream. A giggle escaped his lips, he was so excited!

Joker reached the door, quickly unlocked it and flung it open.

"Hey Bird Boy! Ready for round three..." He paused as he stood inside an empty cell.

"Huh…" He said scratching the back of his head. "I could have sworn-" Out from the shadow of the door Robin sprang and swung a fist at Joker's face, feeling cartilage breaking underneath his fist as he punched the sado's nose; knocking him to the floor.

Robin wasted no time to admire his work as he raced down the corridor, running hard to find an exit. He could hear the chilling sound of the Joker's laughter as it echoed, catching up with him as he ran.

He ran as fast as he could throughout the facility, taking the twist and turns as they came, but Robin was getting nowhere fast. This place was a maze; Robin had been running for a few minutes and still had no idea how to find an exit. But the longer he ran Robin could feel his muscles begin to shake and fail and soon he had to stop, panting as he leaned on the wall beside him, his lungs burning. He was hunched over, desperate to take in enough oxygen to start running again. With each breath he could feel himself become more and more tense, eager to get moving again before Joker could catch him. After a while Robin couldn't stand staying there a moment longer and moved off again, pushing his body even though it protested. He continued to run and still hadn't come into contact Joker, but he still felt as though he was begin watched with every moment.

Robin soon came across a door and barged his way through, taking a chance that this was the way he had to go. He was met with a blinding light as he raced through, and a light breeze ruffled his hair as he blinked his eyes clear, it was a rare sunny day. Robin had made it outside and the scent of salt filled his nostrils. So he was by the docks, Robin thought. Most likely still in Gotham due to Joker never wanting to get too far away from Batman. He quickly took off to the edge of the warehouse to reach the wired fence but was cut short by a group of Joker thugs advancing on him.

Robin groaned, he was too weak from running through the warehouse to fight off all of these thugs so instead he continued to race towards them and leaped high into the air, landing on the closest thug's shoulders and knocking him out with a swift kick to the head. Without wasting any time he flipped over the oncoming attacks from the other thugs and ran straight for the fence.

But something wasn't right, the thugs made no effort to come after him as Robin sped past them and as he glanced over his shoulder he saw them casually watch him, some with smirks on their faces. But Robin had no time to wonder about that now and reached the ten metre high fence, he reached out with his hand to grab on to the rung so he could begin to climb when he heard a buzzing noise. Realisation hit him like a tonne of bricks but it was too late, Robin had too much momentum to stop himself in time and his hand touched the wire.

He told himself not to scream, but all thoughts of resistance left as the electricity coursed through his body. He screamed in agony, every part of his body was burning as electricity continued to shred through him. He twisted butwas unable to take his hand from the fence, his muscles were unresponsive and the pain continued.

Who the hell places that much electricity through a fence? Robin was beginning to struggle to breath, screams tore through him and Robin was unable to inhale enough oxygen before another scream escaped. Oh God, he was going to die if this lasted much longer.

But then all of a sudden the pain stopped and Robin fell back onto the hard ground, lying on his back. Robin was barely conscious after that ordeal and he stared dully at the blue sky above him; the sun was shining in his face but Robin was too weak to shade his eyes. He should have known that his attempt to escape was too easy, that Joker had planned something. He heard sniggers from the thugs around him as they approached him and the insane laughter of the man he had grown to fear.

"HAHAHAHAHA! I can't believe he fell for it, nice work boys!" The Joker danced into Robin's vision, ruining the calming effect of the sky. Robin felt his chest begin to tighten in fear but was unable to move.

"You really thought that you could escape so easily? My my Bird Boy, you really are more stupid than I thought."

Joker shook his head in mock disappointment and began giggling again. Robin mumbled something in response but was too quiet for Joker to hear.

"Huh, sorry I didn't quite catch that." Joker leaned in close and Robin spat in his face. Joker quickly recoiled and Robin saw the spit dribble down the side of his face, he couldn't help but smirk at the sight.

But the Joker's eyes narrowed dangerously and Robin felt dread rise in his stomach but he refused to let it show, continuing to smirk in rebellion.

"I was going to be lenient, but now I don't care." He spoke dangerously low and an involuntary shiver raced down his spine.

"Boys!" Joker called to his men. "Why don't you have some fun with Boy Blunder here? Beat him, do whatever you want to him! Just make sure you bring him back in one piece." He turned back to face Robin. "I want to have my own fun with him." Robin swallowed and watched as Joker sprang away back inside of the warehouse, leaving him alone with the thugs.

They chuckled and walked over to him. Robin recognised most of them as people he'd placed in jail more than a few times, all eager to get their revenge. Robin tried to move away but his muscles wouldn't listen to him and so all he could do was watch as they grew closer and closer, until their shadows blocked the sun completely. Blows rained down on him and Robin tried feebly to curl in on himself to protect his vital areas, but the thugs didn't care and continued to kick and beat him. Robin was beginning to feel that he wasn't going to make it out of this alive, and with one quick blow to the head Robin was out like a light.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**So what do you all think of this chapter?**

**It's a little shorter than others I've done previously but I hope you all still enjoyed it.**

**I'm interested to see what you guys think so review and let me know!**

**See you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi PhoenixxFlame here!**

**Easter holidays are finally here! Woop woop, but unfortunatly that means lots and lots of revision for me :(**

**Sorry this chapter was a little later than usual but I've been super busy. Im glad that you all enjoyed the previous chapter and thankyou for the reviews, they make me a happy bunny. ;)**

**Just a little waring that there is still some Robin torture going on, but read and review!**

**enjoy!**

**xxxxxx**

Bruce had returned back to the alley once he placed Robin's utility belt in the Bat mobile and took a minute to compose himself. He quickly turned into detective mode and set to work, scanning every inch of the deserted street for any evidence to help him find Robin. Batman soon saw that there had been a struggle, bins were overturned and the walls cracked. Batman had also noticed that there was blood on the ground but the rain had washed most of it away before Batman was able to get a sample, causing him to mentally scold himself for not being quick enough; a valuable piece of evidence had been lost in his search for Robin. Soon daylight was beginning to shine down onto Batman and he had no choice but to head back to the cave.

Batman placed Robin's utility belt in a DNA analyser as soon as he entered the cave and was waiting for the results. He didn't even get changed out of his suit or get anything to eat. His top priority was Robin, everything else could wait. While Bruce waited for the DNA results he began to check the data on Robin's R-cycle but it had come up with nothing unusual, Robin had simply gone straight from Mount Justice to Gotham with no detours. Bruce's next trail of thought was to come up with any possible criminals who may have had a grudge against Robin but immediately rejected the idea. Robin had put so many criminals behind bars that it could have been any one of them, so it was pointless Bruce even trying to narrow the list down that way.

Next for Bruce was to find which villains had currently escaped from Arkham, which sent a cold shiver down Bruce's spine. Penguin, Riddler, Two-face and Joker were all currently missing. Any one of them would want to cause harm to his ward and Bruce could feel more and more pressured to find Robin in time.

Alfred stood a little ways off from where Bruce was sat and just continued to watch him work. His expression was grim; a look which unsuited the Butler's kind face. News of Dick's kidnapping had hit him hard; usually with Dick's kidnappings Alfred would not worry too much, knowing that Bruce would be there to save him before anything worse happened. But watching Bruce sit at the computer all day, unable to find any leads that would help save Dick, scared the old Butler. It was one of the few times Alfred would fear the worst. It tore him apart, watching Bruce run himself ragged with worry; absorbing himself in his work, not eating anything, ready to snap at any moment until he found Robin.

He watched Bruce's expression continue to grow darker as he thought hard on the situation. Alfred said nothing knowing it was best not to ruin his train of thought, but stayed close to show Bruce support. Bruce noticed the way Alfred remained by his side while he searched and silently thanked the man, if Alfred wasn't there Bruce may have torn around Gotham and tried to beat the information out of anyone he found. Instead he continued to focus on the computer in front of him; the DNA analyser popped up onto the screen and shown that it had completed its search. Bruce typed in a command and the screen brought up a profile of a man, it had found a match of the blood. Bruce sat and studied the profile for a moment before standing and turned pulling on his cowl. He met Alfred's eyes and nodded,

"I'm off."

"Very good sir. Find him and bring him home."

* * *

Robin woke up in a pool of his own blood. He had been thrown back into his cell once Joker's cronies had finished with him and immediately fell unconscious. His head pounded as he struggled to move into a sitting position, blood pouring into his eye from the head wound he received from a kick to the head and every time he wiped the blood away, a new steam came pouring down so in the end Robin left it alone. His hands were once again tied behind his back and he leaned against the wall opposite the door for some form of support for his aching back. Robin felt his body shiver and he curled in on himself, trying to keep warm. He lost a fair amount of blood through the various wounds he received and he felt dizzy.

Robin hadn't had anything to eat or drink since his time with the Joker and his body was beginning to show signs of malnourishment. His stomach hurt and his entire mouth was dry and he knew he was getting skinnier.

His entire body hurt, every now and them his muscles spasmed from the after effects of the electric shock. His hands were burnt badly across his palms and rivets of pain raced up his arms and throughout his body when he tried to flex his muscles or fingers.

Robin felt his determination dwindle rapidly due to his failing attempt of escape, leaving him with little hope. Robin could feel that he was reaching breaking point and he didn't know how much longer he could last. Every moment he was stuck in this place he felt the hope of Batman saving him also dwindle. He tried to tell himself that he was just being stupid, that Batman would rush into the room in a minute and take him back home. But every time a rush of hope spread through him it was beaten out of him and Robin knew he couldn't take much more of being wrong. Robin's body was broken and his spirit was breaking, he was struggling to keep it together.

Robin swallowed a lump in his throat and pulled his knees to his chest as far as he could to make himself as small as possible while leaning back onto the wall. Tears threatened to fall and he rested his forehead on his knees so his face was hidden and let out a small whimper. He was pathetic, it had only been two days and Joker had reduced him to this, a wreck.

Quickly the lock on the door opened and Joker wandered into the room. Robin raised his head from his knees but continued to look at the ground, hands clasped tightly into fists in his binds to prevent them from shaking. Robin made no snarky comment to the Joker as he came in, instead his lip quivering. Dirty purple trousers walked into his sight, and Robin felt something snap inside him. A powerful sense of fear coursed through him and he felt his head start to shake. He heard himself chant in time with his head.

"No, no, no, no, no, no…" he muttered to his knees.

Joker was a little taken aback with the Boy Wonder's sudden chanting, did he just _break_ Robin? He leaned in close,

"What's the matter Boy Blunder? You scared?" Joker taunted a dangerous edge to his voice. Robin didn't react but continued to shake his head. Suddenly Robin felt his head being forced up as Joker grabbed a fistful of Robin's hair, causing him to let out a yelp of pain as he was brought eye to eye with Joker, he felt his eyes widen at the mad man.

Joker began to laugh hysterically into Robin's face. He couldn't help it, it was just SO funny! For the first time Joker saw the undeniable sense of fear in Robin's eye as he looked up at him.

"Robbie Poo! You've been a bit of a naughty boy, haven't you?"

Robin's eyes widened further and shook his head furiously even with the Joker grabbing his hair, not caring that it hurt. It was this point where Robin looked like a little boy, rather than a vigilante.

"Nonononononono!"

Joker's grin widened,

"Oh yes!"

Stars exploded into Robin's vision as Joker backhanded him back onto the ground. Robin spat out the blood from his mouth and turned to the Joker who towered above him like a demon. Robin tried to move away but his body was too weak from the punishment it received and from the lack of food and water.

Joker continued to laugh at Robin's predicament before cupping a hand to his mouth and called out to the door.

"Oh lacky! Can you bring in my BBQ?"

Robin froze from his place on the ground and watched as one of Joker's henchmen immediately brought in what Joker requested. He was smirking as he walked over to the pair and stopped in front of Joker.

"Very good. Now get out." Joker stated in a cold voice, not even bothering to look at the man. An expression of fear glanced on the thugs face as he turned and quickly left the room, leaving Robin once again alone with madman.

Robin watched as Joker turned his attention the object. It was just what Joker said it was, a rusty red BBQ that looked like it had seen better days. Joker lifted the lid and Robin could feel the heat of the flames lick at his face.

"I must admit it took you a lot longer to get out of the warehouse than I thought it would, but in the end you still got to the wire! Hehehe! You honestly thought it would be that easy to escape? _Come on _Bird Boy! We've been through this before, I'm not going to let you escape so easily. Honestly, it's like you don't know your Uncle J at all!"

Joker shook his head in mock disappointment. "Mind you, you did give us one heck of a show." The joker reached into the BBQ and brought out a metal poker, glowing red from the fire.

"Any way, I was going to let you off easy by just letting you have some time with my boys, but after that obvious show of disrespect I feel that your punishment should be…more severe."

Robin visibly paled and couldn't take his eyes off of the poker. He knew what the Joker was talking about, when he spat in his face. Robin struggled against his binds and tried to move away while the psychopath continued to casually wave the poker around, but Joker just followed him and kicked him onto his back, laughing his insane laughter.

Robin coughed and Joker slammed his foot onto Robin's stomach so he couldn't move. Panic coursed through him and he desperately struggled under Joker, he twisted and turned but he was too weak and his attempt was futile. All Robin could do was watch as Joker moved the poker from one hand to the other.

"Please… Joker, don't…" Robin pleaded. But Joker didn't care and continued to wave the poker around his face. Robin's heart raced and his entire body shook as the poker got dangerously close to his cheek.

"Uh uh uh! You've been a bad little bird and must be punished!"

"NO! Please! Joker DON'T!"

Joker twisted the poker at the last minute and stabbed into Robin's arm. Robin screamed in pain, his cries echoing throughout the entire warehouse as the poker burned into his skin. The pain was unbearable, Robin could hear his skin hiss and bubble as the poker burned away at it, and he could feel his uniform melt into his burning skin. Robin twisted as much as he could to knock the poker off but Joker was too strong and continued to plunge the burning object into his arm.

Oh God, it hurt! It hurt so much! His arm was on fire and Robin couldn't help but let another scream make its way out of his mouth.

"PLEASE, STOP! AHHHHH! NO!"

Robin could begin to smell his flesh burn which made him feel sick to his stomach while he withered on the floor in pain, the Joker continuing to keep the poker in his arm.

"Ahhh, what a beautiful voice you have Robin, you really should sing more often." Joker giggled and slowly brought the poker out of the Boy Wonder's arm. Robin remained motionless on the floor and took in deep raspy breaths, his arm still burning in pain.

Joker stood and examined the now cool poker,

"Damn, cooled down already. Oh well" Joker shrugged, turning back to the BBQ and opened the lid. He had his back to Robin and after a moment of fiddling he turned back to face him, a new red hot poker in hand.

"It's a good thing I brought spares."

* * *

Batman lurked in the shadows of an alley opposite a grubby bar named 'Hal's'. He was lying in wait for a man named John Solven, a minor criminal who had been seen working odd jobs for the Joker in the past. Batman had found that on a closer inspection of Robin's utility belt, a few drops of blood his blood had been discovered splattered on it. Batman immediately set off to interrogate the man.

He could feel his entire body twitch with annoyance as he saw Solven order himself yet another drink. He had to resist the strong urge to just barge through the door and beat the crap out of Solven to find where Robin was; he knew he was thinking irrationally and so instead waited impatiently for the man outside of the bar.

After about half an hour of more waiting Solven exited the bar, he had a black eye and a slight limp as he walked, giving Batman extra confirmation that this was the man he was looking for. As he staggered across the road it was obvious to Batman that he was drunk. _The more drunk the better, _Batman thought_, he was more likely to talk if he had alcohol to loosen his tongue_.

Hiding in the shadows Batman watched as Solven made his way into the alley with a bottle in his hand, too drunk to look carefully at his surroundings. Just a little further, Batman thought. Just a little more…_there!_ The wire tightened around Solven's ankle and catapulted him into the air, the bottle smashing onto the ground below. Solven let out a scream as he continued his way up and windmilled his arms, then as soon as he started his flight began it stopped and Solven was left dangling at least seventy feet in the air with no way down, too stunned to move. Slowly Batman made his way out of the shadows, making himself known to the drunken man. He immediately began to struggle in fear and his sudden movement started to make him sway.

"NO! S-stay away!" he shouted down to Batman. Batman said nothing and let go of the wire down on the ground, sending Solven down straight back to the earth. Solven let out another scream and put his hands in front of his face as he fell, refusing to watch as the pavement came to greet him. Then the wire tugged painfully against his ankle and he let out another scream as he came to a stop a few metres from the ground. Solven's whole body shook from the ordeal and he held his eyes closed shut.

"I'm…I'm alive!" he exclaimed as he opened his eyes, only to be greeted by an extremely angry Batman. He gulped and tried to move away, he spoke too soon.

Batman placed himself right in front of Solven's face as he opened his eyes, he saw fear race across his features as he saw the dark knight. _Good, let him be afraid_. He gave Solven the darkest glare he could muster and watched as the sweat rolled down the man's face as his fear grew more evident.

"Where's Robin?" Batman spoke the words carefully, dangerously.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about." Solven stuttered, Batman could pick up the lie in his voice and could smell the alcohol on his breath. Frustration swelled in him and he punched the wall right next to his head, Solven flinched and let out a whimper.

"I am not in the mood. Tell me where Robin is, NOW."

"I told you I-"

Batman punched Solven in the stomach, hard.

"DON'T LIE TO ME! Where is Robin?!" He yelled in his face. Solven was breathing hard from the punch and quickly brought his hands up in surrender. His face was beginning to turn red from being upside down for so long and Batman could see the tears begin to race onto the pavement. Coward.

"Ok-ok! I was in the alley when Robin showed up and started to beat the crap out of me and some lads. Steve got away and told Joker, he came and knocked Robin out when he wasn't looking."

Solven saw Batman's face darken as he spoke, and he could feel himself begin to shake under the intense glare he was giving him.

"Where did Joker take Robin?" Batman's voice was low and dangerous once again.

"Um um I-I-" Batman punched the wall again.

"_Where?.._"

"Th-the Dockyard! In-uhh warehouse number five! Umm-yeah. He has guards posted 24/7 around the entire building, said he didn't want any interruptions."

Batman cursed under his breath, it was worse than he thought. Robin was taken two days ago, who knows what Joker had done to Robin in that amount of time. And all the while Batman had no idea what was going on. How could he have been so blind! Batman turned and sent a message out to Commissioner Gordon, alerting him to another criminal needing a cell for tonight and walked out of the alley.

"Hey! You just going to leave me here!" Solven called but silence was his only reply as he was left to sway alone in the alley.

* * *

Robin wasn't holding up so well, Joker had continued to relentlessly burn Robin with the poker and now he was beginning to lose consciousness. Through the pain Robin could feel himself becoming distanced from his body, like he was watching as a spectator to the scene around him but he could still feel the pain Joker was inflicting upon his boy. He watched as Joker replaced the cooled poker with a searing hot one from the BBQ and stabbed it into Robin's leg. A scream ripped its way out of Robin's throat as he thrashed again, desperate for Joker to remove the poker.

It had been going on for over an hour, and more than a dozen burn marks littered Robin's body. Along with the bruises and cuts from Joker's previous methods there was hardly a patch of skin that was left untouched from his wrath and Robin couldn't move without pain racing throughout his body. All through the torture Joker laughed and laughed and laughed, and Robin knew that that sound would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life.

_Please…anybody. Someone…help me…_

Robin's thoughts were becoming more and more distant as time continued, and slowly his screams were beginning to quieten to a low murmur.

"Please…" he mumbled.

Joker stood, poker in hand to admire his work. He glanced at his pocket watch. _Not bad, _Joker thought to himself.

"Two days!" He exclaimed and Robin slowly titled his head to listen, it was taking all of his energy just to make that small movement.

"It has taken two days to break you! My! That's got to be some sort of record don't ya think? Usually it would take a lot longer or Batsy would come along to save you before it was too late. By the way, where is old Batty Boy? He's usually here by now." Joker question and placed his hands on his waist, in a thinking pose.

Robin tried to focus on Joker but his vision was beginning to blur and his mind kept drifting off. He could slowly feel his eye lids begin to become heavy and saw the darkness creep into the edges of his vision, his hearing was beginning to muffle and Joker's gradually turned into a constant drone as he set off on yet another speech.

Then in flash a right light caught Robin's attention as the door flung open, causing Joker to jump in fright. A foreboding figure stood in the brightened doorway.

"Batsy! It's about time you… Wait! You're not Bat-" Without warning the figure attacked Joker mid-sentence and knocked him out cold, slumped against the side of the wall. Robin, who was still dazed and semi-conscious turned as much as he could to the newcomer, ignoring how much his body protested.

"B-Batman?" He whispered, but the figure said nothing as he approached Robin and knelt down in front of him. Robin's eyesight was still a blur and couldn't focus on the man.

"D-d-dad?" he tried again, with more desperation in his voice.

"It's alright Robin." The voice soothed and Robin could feel himself begin slowly picked up.

"Ok" He whispered back. Robin was so tired he didn't resist and let himself be carried away, believing to be safe in the arms of his father and was son lulled to sleep by the steady rocking as the man walked away.

* * *

Batman quickly raced outside the warehouse Solven had confessed to him and practically flung himself out of the Bat mobile before it had even come to a halt. Batman immediately tensed as he noticed no guards were patrolling like Solven said there were. Batman felt anger boil in his chest at the thought of Solven lying to him. Batman was contemplating racing back to Solven when he noticed a dark shape resting against the side of the warehouse.

As he approached it he saw that the shadow was in fact a man and he was dead. Fear quickly replaced the anger as Batman raced into the warehouse, apprehension pushing Batman to go faster as he searched the entire building. He found dead men littering the floor as he searched, but Batman didn't stop. He had to make sure Robin was ok. He couldn't believe that Robin was killed, it couldn't happen. Joker didn't kill him, did he? No. that would explain why all of his men are dead too, so what happened here?

Batman continued to search and soon came across a room with the door wide open. He was hesitant to enter at first, the entire room smelt of blood. It felt _wrong._ But Batman took a deep breath, steeling himself and reluctantly entered the room.

Batman was horrified. He had seen many murder crime scenes but this one made his blood run cold. The entire floor was covered in blood, disguarded items such as crowbars and knifes were littered throughout and mixed in with the blood and an old BBQ was left in a corner of the room still lit. The stench was horrible, the smell of blood and burnt flesh made Batman feel sick, but he couldn't tare his eyes away. The room looked like it belonged in some sick horror film.

_All this blood couldn't belong to Robin_. Batman tried to convince himself.

A groan suddenly echoed its way throughout the room and Batman quickly moved the door, hoping to find Robin but instead found Joker slumped on the floor, clutching his head. Batman's heart sunk, there was no sign of Robin.

Anger raced through him and he raced in front of Joker and grabbed his suit, raising him until his feet was dangling in the air. Joker looked to him in surprise, then a huge grin plastered itself onto the madman's face.

"Batsy! Great to see ya! How have-"

"-Where. Is. Robin?" Joker frowned at being interrupted and raised a hand to his ear.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Batman slammed Joker back into the wall. Hearing a crack as the wall began to break.

"Tell me." Batman spoke dangerously low. Joker just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"How should I know?"

"Don't lie, I know you have him. So where is he?" Batman tried again. Joker laughed.

"I honest to God have no idea. One moment I was having a great time making little Boy Wonder sing." Batman visibly tensed, he knew what Joker meant by 'sing'. "And the next some guy just barges his way in, kills all of my men, and takes the kid! I don't think that was very nice, do you?"

"Who took him?"

"I have no idea, never seen him before. He's not your regular Gotham psycho, that's for sure."

Batman had had enough. He dropped Joker to the ground and left the room, hearing Joker's laugh echo throughout the corridor, he sent out another message to Gordon and walked back to the Bat mobile. This was not good. Now he had no leads on where to find Robin and no method on finding him. Batman had no idea on Robin's condition and looking back at the room it didn't look promising. Millions of thoughts worked their way through Batman's mind but one question continuously kept popping up.

_Who the hell took my son?_

**xxxxxx**

**Dun dun DUN!**

**What you all think?**

**Review and let me know!**

**See you all next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi, PhoenixxFlame here.**

**I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter :)**

**I have to say I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and has become the longest one I've written yet so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I wrote it.**

**Oh I also have no medical knowledge so anything I write here most likely isn't completely correct, it's just what I thought was right for the story :)**

**I don't own Young Justice or Lord of the flies, blah blah blah**

**and everyone read and review!**

**enjoy :)**

**xxxxx**

Robin slowly awoke from his dreamless sleep and felt as though he was floating in air. He kept his eyes closed as he relished the sense of weightlessness, for once in the longest time Robin's body didn't cry out in pain. His memory was hazy and he couldn't remember much but at this moment Robin was content, he felt safe. His mind was finally relaxed and no ill thoughts trespassed their way through, leaving Robin at ease.

As Robin's mind gradually begin to catch up with his body, he began to notice that he was wrapped in a cotton blanket and his head was being supported by a mass of thick pillows, he slowly waved his hands over the surface of the sheet, it was soft. It was by far one of the softest beds he had ever slept in, mind you that could just be because he spent a few days on a cold hard floor. But somehow this to Robin felt wrong; although it was very comfortable it did not feel like his bed in the manor, which set off some sort of alarm bell in his head. Robin opened his eyes and was met with an onslaught of light so he quickly closed them again. After a moment Robin tried again, but this time with a little more caution. He gradually lifted his eyelids and the light didn't hurt his eyes as much, but his vision was still hazy and Robin had to keep opening and closing them so not to strain them.

From somewhere to Robin's right the sound of a door opening could be heared and Robin turned his head towards the sound. With his vision still slightly foggy Robin could just make out a man in walk in with a tray in his hands. He walked with a slight grace and held himself tall as he walked over to Robin's bedside and placed the tray on the small table next to him.

"Alfred?" Robin winced as he spoke, his throat felt like sand paper. The man paused with whatever he was doing and turned to look at him.

"Hmm? Oh, you're finally awake I see." Robin froze, that wasn't Alfred's voice; this was colder. There was no kindness in this voice, Robin tried to sit up quickly but his movements were sluggish. The stranger didn't seem to notice Robin's sudden shift in position and poured out a glass of water for Robin to take. Robin was hesitant at first, his eyes trained on the outstretched hand before cautiously accepting the glass but not taking a sip, he still had no idea who this person was. The man didn't look offended when he noticed that Robin simply stared at the water rather than drinking it and went back to the tray.

Robin kept watching his glass as the man continued to do whatever he was doing; Robin didn't try to make conversation with the stranger and neither he with Robin. Robin's mind was still quite slow and sluggish from just waking up and gradually Robin could feel his eyes return back to normal and his vision sharpen so decided to take in his surroundings.

He was in a large, spacious room that was filled with a limited amount of furniture. Two large bay windows covered most of the wall to Robin's left, filling the room with light. In between the windows there was a simple wooden desk placed against the wall with a lamp and chair. On the far wall was a mirror and another door, which Robin assumed lead to a bathroom. Robin was dressed in plain black top and grey trousers; they must have changed him out of his uniform, Robin thought to himself. His body was covered in white sheets from his bed and machines bleeped from either side of him, monitoring him in some way. On the right hand side of the room was a bookshelf, filled to the brim with different books. Near the corner of the wall was a door which the stranger appeared from, so Robin assumed that lead to the rest of a building.

Bring himself back to his current situation Robin turned back to the stranger and watched as he continued to fiddle with the different machines. He sat in silence as he went over events in his head. He could almost hear Batman instructing him, like he would on patrol. _Remain calm, analyse your situation and find a suitable strategy before you react. Never just head in without thinking, that's what causes mistakes._

Robin felt a twang in his heart at the thought of Batman, the thought of Bruce. If Bruce had no idea where Robin was beforehand he definitely wouldn't have any idea where he was now, even Robin had no idea where he was. Bruce was going to kill him!

A sudden realisation hit Robin and his hands quickly shot up to his face, he immediately calmed as he felt fabric pass underneath his fingertips and let out a sigh of relief. They had left his mask on for some reason; his identity was safe for now. And that meant Bruce and the others in the hero community were safe as well. But something caught his attention while his hands were on his face, Robin looked to his arms. Right where there should be fresh wounds were either scabs or faint pink scars. He checked his other limbs, it was the same there. Only one or two bandages were left, which begged the question: _How long was I out?_

The Boy Wonder slowly lowered his arms and turned to the man,

"So…uh" Robin winced and rubbed his hands over his neck, damn his throat was sore. Robin looked down at the glass he was holding once more as the man turned to face him.

"You can drink it you know." He spoke in a British accent. "I can assure you it has not been tampered with in any way." Robin hesitated before taking a small sip, his throat was really sore. The water to Robin didn't taste funny and soon he gulped down the rest, while keeping a cautious eye on the man next to him. He dressed a lot like Alfred and if you squinted, he looked quite similar to him too; they both held themselves in high regard and had an air of wisdom. No wonder Robin confused them together.

"Who are you?"

"You can call me Wintergreen, may I call you Robin?"

Robin was slightly taken aback, but he then realised that Wintergreen must have seen him in his Robin uniform before he changed. "Uhh, sure."

Wintergreen nodded and went to pick up the chair by the desk. He said nothing as he brought the chair over and sat down, realising the boy must have a lot of questions. He took the now empty cup from Robin's hands and placed on the bedside table.

"Thanks." Robin replied. "Were you the one who patched me up?" he asked to the seated man. He nodded once more.

"Indeed. You were quite a mess when you were first brought in; it took a while to get you into a stable condition."

Robin remained silent for a moment as he took the information in, he gaze focused on the sheets in front of him.

"What, what happened to me?" He spoke quietly while staring at the sheets, unwanted memories surfaced up from his time with Joker. He stole a glance at Wintergreen and saw him slightly stiffen up not respond straight away, as though he was trying to find the right words to say.

"I wasn't there when it happened but you were borderline unconscious when my master found you, he quickly took care of Joker before bringing you straight here to receive medical treatment. But by that time you had already slipped into a coma and remained like that until you awoke just now."

A frown was on Robin's face as he turned to look at Wintergreen.

"And how long was I out?" Robin as cautiously, scared at the answer he'll recieve. Wintergreen looked him straight in the eye,

"Four weeks." He spoke bluntly. Robin shot up in his bed,

"Four weeks!? That's a whole month! How could I have been out for four weeks!? Oh God everyone's going to be so worried, I've got to get out and see them. Batman has no idea!" Robin spoke quickly and moved to pulled off the covers off of him but was stopped as a strong hand rested on his shoulder. He turned to look at Wintergreen, surprised at the strength the elderly man possessed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You have been given a high amount of drugs right now so you can't feel the pain but your body is still pretty injured, it would be unwise for you to move right now." Robin shrugged off his hand.

"Look, I really appreciate what you've done for me but I need to get back, they'll all be worried."

Wintergreen looked at Robin for a moment before leaning back in his chair and gestured for Robin to continue. He watched as Robin tore off the wires attached to his body and literally throw himself from his bed. As soon as Robin stood he fell to the floor with his head spinning, he felt as though he was going to be sick. By chance he found a bin within arm's reach and soon brought up the contents of his stomach. He gently placed down the bucket and looked to his legs, they were shaking pretty bad. Of course they were shaking! Robin hadn't moved for over four weeks and was tortured; his legs took a beating from his time with Joker they had grown pretty weak and the muscles wasting away; Robin was going to need to get a lot of training in when he was well enough. Robin tried to stand again but his legs wouldn't comply and he fell to the floor once more, his legs shaking even more under the strain. He turned and saw Wintergreen in the same position seated in his chair; arms crossed looking down on him.

"Are you ready to take my advice?" he spoke, in a tone that said 'I told you so'.

Robin grumbled. "Yeah, could you please help me up?" Wintergreen nodded and together they soon had Robin lying back in bed, wired back up to the machines. They remained silent for a moment but Wintergreen saw that Robin had something on his mind, so remained seated beside him.

"You said…" Robin began.

"Go on." Wintergreen urged.

"You said that your master came and saved me, why?" Robin questioned. Wintergreen sighed and shook his head.

"I do not know; he does not usually speak to me about these things. His reasons are his own."

Robin paused and looked down again at the sheets, a thoughtful expression on his face. It felt to Robin like Wintergreen was hiding something from him so he tried a different approach,

"Who…who is your master?" He put it bluntly. Wintergreen stiffened and rose from his chair; obviously Robin had stepped into something he shouldn't have, maybe he put it _too _bluntly.

"That is of no importance right now." He spoke in a harsh tone. "Anyhow, I assume that you are hungry? Unfortunately, you being comatose meant that we had to feed you by drip, so it would be good for you to get some real food."

Robin merely nodded, "Good, I will be back shortly. In the meantime…" Wintergreen walked over to the bookshelf and picked out a random book, passing it to Robin to read.

"Why don't you read this? I fear you're going to be lying in that bed for a while." Robin thanked Wintergreen as he left the room, and once the door was shut he turned the book over in his hands. 'Lord of the Flies'. He remembered having to read for an English assignment in school once; he didn't like it very much, Robin wasn't too sure if he actually finished it. But he shrugged and opened to the first chapter, Wintergreen didn't seem that bad, and Robin didn't think he was in any immediate danger. So he raised his pillows and made himself comfortable and began reading- _The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way towards the lagoon._

* * *

Wally made his way slowly from the zeta tubes further into the cave to meet up with the rest of the team. It was quiet in the hollowed mountain and had been for weeks, no one felt like smiling anymore, not while they had no idea where Robin was. Wally's footsteps echoed throughout the room as he entered the living quarters; the rest of the team were all present and seated on the green sofas. There wasn't much talk going on as he entered and the team all looked to his direction as he made his way over. Wally raised his hand in greeting,

"Hey." He spoke weakly. Kaldur was first to speak,

"Wally, how are you?" Wally shrugged and sat himself down next to Artemis.

"As good as I can be with my best friend still missing." He grumbled and Artemis placed a hand on his leg, giving him a soft smile in support. The pair had gotten close over the past few weeks, finding support in one another over a lost comrade. Kaldur glanced at the two and allowed himself a sad smile, remembering the bet he and Robin made. It looked like he owed Robin five dollars.

The room fell into another silence. The team had met up as they were due to go on another mission in half an hour, so they all arrived early so they could prepare. Even though Robin was missing Batman and the rest of the League continued to send the team onto missions, even though the team protested; wanting to help find Robin. Kaldur went over the moment Batman told the team that Robin was missing four weeks ago.

_The Team was messing around playing video games in the Mountain when Batman called them to the training pad. They had had a good couple of days, one mission and the rest of the time just hanging around; but as soon as they saw Batman on the other side of the room with a large scowl on his face, they knew something was wrong. _

_The team approached silently and stopped a few feet from the Dark Knight. Kaldur took a couple steps forward in front of the team, as their unofficial spokesman as leader._

"_Batman" he greeted, "What can we do for you?"_

_Batman looked at every member of the team in turn, meeting all of their gazes before speaking._

"_Robin in missing." He said bluntly. The room remained silent for a moment as the Team digested the information. Then, all hell broke loose. Everyone started yelling at the same time, all forgetting who they were currently shouting at._

"_-What!?"_

"_-What do you mean Robin's missing?!"_

"_-How did this happen?"_

"_-what did you do?!"_

"_-when did you see him last?"_

_Batman allowed the Team to get the shock out of their systems first and listened to all of their shouts. _

"_Enough!" he half yelled after the yells began to hurt his ears. The team immediately quietened, realising they were shouting at the Dark Knight and waited for him to speak._

"_After Robin left the mountain two days ago, he went out into Gotham and began patrol on his own, I presume to let off some steam. But unfortunately while he was in the middle of taking down some thugs he ran into the Joker and was taken-"_

"_So let's go get him!" Wally yelled, interrupting Batman. Batman glared at Wally, who automatically shut up._

"_Let me continue, Wallace." He growled and Wally paled, taking a step back. He nodded and Batman continued._

"_As I was saying, I went over to where Joker had taken Robin, but-" Batman's voice lowered, "-I was too late. Someone had already gone into the hideout and taken Robin. I questioned Joker but he had no idea who had taken him, so I had no choice but to involve the League."_

_M'gann took a step forward. "Well, we'll help you search for him."_

_Batman held up a hand,_

"_No, this is the League's responsibility. I just thought you had the right to know the situation."_

_Conner growled._

"_That's not fair; he's our friend and teammate too! You can't just keep us out of it because it's your fault Robin's missing!" the room turned silent and the Team turned wide eyed to Conner, not really believing that he spoke that out loud._

"_He went missing after you two had your argument, didn't he? You just let him leave and wonder the streets by himself, even after that bombshell you dropped on him! What sort of mentor are you!? How could you not realise the state Robin was probably in!?"_

_The rest of the team said nothing as they watched Conner give his speech. If anyone had the right to shout about mentors and fathers, it was Conner. His relationship with Superman was still awkward and slightly hostile at best. They turned to look at Batman. He said nothing while Conner spoke and held his glare, but the team noticed how his hands balled into fists by his sides. This was the first time they had seen Batman look slightly rattled._

"_You're right." He spoke calmly, and the Teams jaws dropped. Did Batman just admit that he was in the wrong?_

"_That is exactly why I am the one who is going to be looking for Robin, as well as the League. Your role in this will be to carry out any missions that we will not be able to complete due to our search for Robin. While you are on your missions you will keep an eye and ear out in case you find any information that may aid our search. Is that clear?"_

_The team looked to the floor, Batman's logic was right and it made sense, even though they hated to admit it. If anyone could find Robin it was the League. At least this way the Team had some involvement in the search for Robin, even if it wasn't a large part. Kaldur looked up and met Batman's eyes,_

"_Understood." Kaldur spoke on behalf of the entire Team and Batman nodded._

"_Good, now" Batman spoke, "Your mission…"_

So now most of the Team's time together was spent on missions, taking up most of their time. They successfully completed each one but still returned defeated. None of the missions held any clue about the whereabouts on Robin and the team grew less and less hopeful with each passing day.

Kaldur looked around at each team member,

"We should get going for our next mission." They all nodded and stood and began walking the training pad to be debriefed. They may all look depressed but as the mission grew nearer, their determination grew. They were going to find Robin, they wouldn't let him disappear.

* * *

Batman stood in the Watchtower looking over all the footage that its computers possessed. He had been going at it for weeks, searching through every piece of information he could find. Going over each file and trying to find a connection, anything to find out where Robin had gone. He begrudgingly had to inform the League a day after questioning Joker when he couldn't find any leads, and so now the entire hero community had searched for Batman's missing partner. But so far they hadn't found anything. It was like Robin had just disappeared.

From a room to Batman's right the rest of the league entered the main hall. They had just had a meeting on the current state of affairs of all the countries at war; but it was nothing that would help to find Robin so Batman refused to participate, even though he was required to attend due to him being a founding member. But the rest of the League didn't push it; Batman had grown a lot colder since Robin's disappearance.

They left the meeting in silence and made their way to the zeta tubes while keeping an eye on Batman's form. They had their own cities to protect while keeping up with affairs here. Superman paused on his way to the tubes and watched Batman, he could tell that Bruce wasn't eating or sleeping much. He would snap at a moment's notice if someone said anything wrong and Superman could see dark bags begin to form under his cowl, even without his enhanced vision. Batman spent most of his time at that computer and hardly ever went home and it was beginning to show.

Superman motioned for the rest of the heroes to continue and he slowly made his way over the Dark Knight, he paused a few feet away waiting for the rest of the League to leave the watchtower before continuing. As soon as the zeta tube announced the final deport Batman spoke,

"What do you want Clark?" he asked without turning from the computer.

"I just wanted to see how you were holding up." He replied friendly. Batman cast a glance in Clark's direction before returning his attention back to the screen.

"I'm fine." He said curtly "Now don't you have a city to protect or something?"

"Last time I checked, so did you."

Batman turned to face Clark fully, the famous Bat glare on his face,

"I don't know if you have noticed _Clark_, but my son is currently _missing_ and I have no idea where he is or _who _has taken him. Gotham can wait." He snapped, Clark didn't flinch at the sudden outburst but held up his hands in surrender.

"Hey, I meant nothing by it. But you're working yourself to hard; it's not good for you to be stuck up here. I mean, when was the last time you had something to eat?"

"I'll get something later, finding Robin takes priority."

"No it doesn't, not if it puts your health in danger."

"My health isn't as important as Dick." He argued, Superman gave a soft smile and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"I know," he spoke softly. "You're worried about him Bruce, we all are. But it's not doing you any good working all the time and running yourself ragged. Head back to Gotham and get some sleep; I'll carry on up here for a bit. Alfred must be worried sick about you."

Batman sighed and turned away from the computer.

"Fine." He began to walk to the zeta tubes, on his way he paused and looked back over his shoulder to Clark.

"Thank you." He spoke before continuing his way to the exit. Clark nodded,

"No problem." He continued to watch as Batman stepped into the zeta tubes and was teleported back to Earth, making sure he actually did as instructed. Clark felt bad for Bruce, he knew that Bruce blamed himself for Dick's disappearance and he was beating himself up badly because of it. He could tell how much it hurt Bruce's pride to as the league for help, so Clark understood how worried Bruce is right now, even if he didn't openly show it. But he also could tell Bruce really appreciated how everyone is helping him to locate Dick, the thank you just then proved it. Clark wouldn't let Bruce down; he turned back to the computer and quickly got to work.

* * *

Batman gradually made his way from the zeta tubes to where he hid the Bat mobile. His movements were sluggish and he swayed slightly as he walked down the alley. Clark was right, he was _tired_. He had searched non-stop for Dick ever since he was taken from Joker, he analysed every piece of data he had and re-analysed it. He patrolled the streets every night to try and pick up new leads; he looked at pieces of data that had nothing to do with each other and tried to fit them together in some way. But nothing seemed to work, every lead was a dead end and no data fitted together.

Every day Bruce would only get a couple of hours rest before starting it all again and he would only have a bite to eat if he remembered; which wasn't often. Even as he walked Batman realised that he was pushing his body close to its limit, the last time he ate was probably last night. Alfred forced him to eat some soup, but even then Bruce left half of it eager to carry on searching for Dick.

Batman soon made his way into the alley where he left the Bat mobile, busy wrapped up in his own thoughts. A sudden clang brought him back to reality and he was immediately on high alert. The source of the noise came from where the Bat mobile was parked and Batman silently made his way over, careful not to alert the person that he was there. Soon the Bat mobile came into view and Batman froze at the sight,

"Unbelievable" he murmured under his breath.

* * *

A week had passed since Robin first woke up from a coma. The days weren't very productive; Robin could hardly get out of bed without help from Wintergreen. So Robin spent most of his time in bed, he had grown to enjoy reading 'Lord Of the Flies', especially since there was not much else to do. Wintergreen kept him company most of the time, he would sit with Robin and often play chess with him, or he would just sit there with his newspaper and read while Robin read his book. Robin tried a few times to try and coax any information about who saved him from Joker and why, but each time he did Wintergreen would stop what he was doing and quickly change the conversation. If Robin persisted after this point he would just get up and leave the room, not coming back for the rest of the day except for bringing Robin his meals. So Robin gave up for now and just enjoyed his company.

They would talk about random things; Robin would make sure to keep all conversation away from anything that would risk his identity. The conversations were nice, and it kept Robin from going insane from being cooped up all day. Once or twice a day Wintergreen would help Robin try and get back onto his feet. He would let Robin hold onto him for support as they walked about his room, slowly trying to get the strength back into Robin's legs. As the days progressed Robin could slowly feel his legs get better, after two days Robin could stand on his own and after four he could walk a few paces on his own without any support. By the end of the week Robin could walk a short distance, but still grew tired quickly. The rest of Robin's injuries were still present but healing slowly and now Robin wasn't taking any more pain relief, mostly because he refused to take them and Wintergreen didn't push him to do so. It was going to take a lot of training to get Robin back up to peak physical condition.

It was in the beginning of the second week that Robin was finally allowed to leave his room. It was just like every other day for Robin since he first woke up. He would lie in bed reading for half an hour then Wintergreen would enter with Robin's breakfast, he would sit with Robin while he ate then would take Robin's empty plates away once he had finished. Robin would wait for Wintergreen to return and then would play a round of chess upon his arrival.

"And I believe that it is checkmate once again Robin." Wintergreen stated while taking Robin's king with a pawn. Robin just stared at the board wide eyed, unable to believe that he lost his king to a pawn,

"Really, again!? We've been playing all week and I _still _haven't managed to beat you, you must have cheated or something." Robin frowned and continued to stare at the board, going over the last game in his head. Either Wintergreen was very good or Robin was incredibly bad, no matter what tactics Robin used Wintergreen always managed to find a way around it. Wintergreen only scowled at Robin's remarked,

"I can assure you that I do not cheat, I won this round fair and square like every other game we have played."

Robin smirked,

"Yeah, well I'm still going to keep my eye on you." He joked and Wintergreen huffed,

"Humph! The manners young people have these days, atrocious." He muttered under his breath loud enough for Robin to hear, it made the young boy smile.

"How are you feeling today Robin?" The Boy Wonder shrugged,

"Not bad, I could do with a walk though." Wintergreen nodded a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Well, would you like to take a stroll with me around the house?" Robin looked up at Wintergreen. This was the first time Robin was offered and allowed to leave his room.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Good. Let's get going then shall we." Wintergreen was still slightly cold to Robin, but had warmed up since when they first met and Robin quickly got out of bed and slowly made his way to the door, still feeling slightly weak.

Wintergreen waited for Robin by the door and held it open for him to pass through. He paused out in the corridor for Wintergreen to close it behind him and soon they began walking. The corridor was large and doors which lead to other rooms were spread all along, they didn't speak as they walked and Robin tried to memorise where they were going but soon lost his way through all the different twists and turns. The building was large and Robin assumed they were in a country mansion, much like Wayne Manor. Through the windows they past Robin could see the trees and bushes sway in the breeze. That's one thing Robin wanted, to go outside and bask in the sun.

"This place is huge." Robin spoke after a while.

"Yes, my master has quite a large sum of money at his disposal so he can afford luxuries such as these." They continued on their way. After a while Robin felt himself begin to tire, Wintergreen must have picked up on it because soon they came to a stop outside a door.

"Wintergreen?" Robin questioned. The said man turned to look at him,

"My master has requested to see you; he is currently right through this door. But if you are not feeling well, we can head back to your room and you can meet him some other time."

Robin was surprised, he spent an entire week not knowing what was going on and now the answers were right through this door. Finally! _But why does Wintergreen look slightly hesitant?_ Robin thought to himself. Robin shook his head,

"No, I'm fine." Robin said taking a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Wintergreen simply nodded and opened the door for Robin to enter; the room Robin entered had a large computer on a desk at the back with bookshelves lining the walls. A chair was placed in front of the computer and swivelled as the person heard Robin enter the study, the man sat in the chair turned to greet the boy.

"Hello Robin, it's good to see you again." The man spoke calmly. Robin took a sharp intake of breath and quickly turned to face Wintergreen, an accusing finger pointing at the man in the chair.

"Slade!?" He half shouted at the man. "Your master is Slade!?"

**xxxxxxx**

**What do you all think?**

**Like I said before I really enjoyed writing this chapter and would appretiate reviews to let me know what you think too :)**

**Anyhoo, until next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi, PhoenixxFlame here.**

**I just want to say thank you for all of you reviews and that I really appretiate them :)**

**And concerning one question, when I first started writing this story I didnt really think about at what point this story takes place within season one. It's more that I just prefer the characters from season one to season two, it doesn't really follow the origional story line. I have no idea what you call that :P **

**I hope that clears it up for you :)**

**Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy the next chapter and read and review! Let me know what you think :)**

**xxxxxxxx **

"Slade is your master?!" Robin shouted. Wintergreen said nothing from his position in the doorway but gave the boy a cold stare before returning his attention back to his master. Robin felt angry, betrayed. He may not have known Wintergreen for that long but he was growing to trust the man, believing that he only had good intentions. But now, any sign of friendship and trust was gone. He walked up close to him,

"I trusted you!" he hissed, finger pointing.

"There's no need to be rude, Robin." Slade's voice spoke from inside the study. Robin spun around to face the man in the chair, drawing into a defensive stance. He flushed in anger,

"You! Why are you here!?" Slade held up a hand to silence the boy.

"Easy Robin, is that any way to talk to the man who saved your life?" he spoke calmly, as though talking to a child in the middle of a tantrum. Robin's eyes grew wide as he drew back in shock,

"You, you were the one who saved me?"

"Indeed I did." Robin's eyes narrowed and his body grew tense.

"Why?"

"It's like I said before Robin. I am in search of an apprentice and so far you are the most promising candidate. I'm not about to let you be killed by a psychopath, not before I've trained you anyway."

"I told you before; I have no interest in becoming your apprentice." Robin growled, he could feel his anger rising as Slade once again attempted to persuade Robin to join him, there was no way he was going to abandon Batman for this madman. Slade disregarded his comment and stood from his chair.

"Just because you have no current interest doesn't mean that I am just going to let you go, you _will_ become my apprentice."

Robin felt something inside him snap as Slade said those words. Maybe it was the repressed anger from his time with Joker or just anger from the past few weeks, Robin didn't know. But he felt adrenaline rush throughout him and the aches and the soreness momentarily left his body.

"Like hell I will!" He shouted and ran at Slade. Although he had no weapons on him, Robin had his arm raised to strike, determined to defeat Slade. Slade on the other hand merely sighed and moved further away from his chair, watching as Robin drew close and threw his fist at Slade's face. Slade simply raised his hand and brushed it to the side, Robin quickly retaliated with a kick but Slade only blocked it. Robin continued to throw punches and kicks in Slade's direction within the small room but was unable to land a single hit, the man only continued to evade them.

"Enough Robin, you are in no condition to be instigating a fight." Slade spoke calmly, while evading a kick aimed at his stomach.

"I don't care!" Robin responded and continued his attacks. But he knew Slade was right, he wasn't in any condition to fight. As the fight continued Robin could feel the adrenaline began to wear off he noticed with dislike that his attacks were growing weaker and his breathes were becoming shorter as each minute passed, but he carried on fighting simply out of anger. The thought of working with this man and betraying Batman infuriated him, so he continued to fight; he wouldn't give up on Batman.

"Robin." Slade warned "Stop this." Robin said nothing as he took a moment to catch his breath; he kept a wary eye on Slade as he took a moment to recover. It confused him, Robin was down and would be unable to fend off an attack; Slade could finish him at any moment. So why didn't he? Why is he allowing Robin to have his break? Robin just couldn't understand it.

He turned his attention toward Wintergreen while he rested, he noticed that the man had moved from his position in the doorway and had settled in the corner of the room, out of harm's way. He hadn't made any attempt towards trying to end the fight and only looked on in mild curiosity, it looked like robin couldn't count on Wintergreen to try and help him.

He shook his head and straightened, he winced. The adrenaline was almost gone and Robin could feel his body begin to ache once again, his legs were shaking and black spots were beginning to appear in the corners of his vision. Wordlessly Robin ran at Slade once again, attempting to place the final blow. Robin couldn't last much longer and he knew he was going to have to finish this fight soon. He heard Slade let out a growl as he grew closer,

"I don't have time for this." He hissed and grabbed Robin's oncoming punch, he twisted Robin's arm right around his back and forced it into a strong, painful lock. Robin let out a yell as Slade roughly twisted his arm further, he made a weak attempt to kick at Slade behind him, but before he even began to move Slade snapped a kick into the back of Robin's leg, forcing him to a kneeling position on the ground in front of him, arm lock still in place. Slade continued to increase the pressure of the lock so much so that if Robin even attempted to move a millimetre, he shoulder would dislocate. Robin growled at how he was at the mercy of Slade right now and grimaced as he realised all of his energy had gone and he lay slumped in the position Slade forced him in, panting and putting most of his concentration into trying not to fall unconscious. Slade leaned in close to Robin's ear,

"I would be careful Robin." He spoke dangerously. Robin felt a shiver of fear crawl down his spine as he felt Slade's breath on his ear coming through the bars on his mask, "I do not take insubordination lightly." Slade let go of Robin's arm and kicked his back so he fell to the floor. Robin didn't move and felt his vision become blurred.

"I do not have time for you if you are not going to be civil, we will try again once you've calmed down."

Robin tried to think of a retort he could use but his mind was unable to function properly. If Slade spoke it fell on deaf ears as Robin fell into unconsciousness once again. The room remained silent for a moment as both servant and master watched the unconscious boy. After a while, once Slade was certain that the boy was out cold he turned to Wintergreen.

"Wintergreen." He spoke and the man in the corner of the room raised his gaze from Robin to Slade,

"Yes?"

"Would you return Robin to his room?" he questioned and Wintergreen nodded hesitantly before slowly making his way towards the unconscious boy, Slade didn't fail to pick up on Wintergreen's hesitance,

"Do you have anything you wish to add, Wintergreen?"

"I just feel as though you have rushed into this too quickly," He began, "telling Robin that you were the one who saved him. He has probably injured himself further from your fight and is now in a worse condition than before."

"It wasn't my intension to begin a fight half way through our conversation, which was his fault." Slade shrugged, "He brought it on himself."

"If you had handled the situation differently-"

"-How?" Wintergreen frowned at being interrupted.

"By not jumping straight onto the fact that you want him to become your apprentice. He has just been through a traumatic experience and is in a very delicate state of mind right now; by adding on that you want him to become your apprentice straight from waking from that nightmare is putting him into the position of that of a cornered animal, and cornered animals take desperate measures to try to escape."

There was a moment of silence as Slade contemplated Wintergreen's words. It was true that he had intended to keep his encounter with Robin strictly a conversation, but the boy just frustrated him with his blunt refusal without a thought. Slade knew he was going to have to take things slow if he was going to persuade Robin to join him, but that was half the fun. But Slade wasn't about to let Wintergreen know how right he was,

"I will do as I please Wintergreen." Slade replied stubbornly and he saw how Wintergreen's face slightly fell at the response,

"Very well sir." He nodded and picked Robin up; he made his way out of the study without looking at Slade and paused just as he reached the doorway,

"Just don't be too hard on the boy when he wakes up, he's having enough trouble as it is." Without another word he walked out into the corridor and out of sight. Slade remained still for a moment and thought about Wintergreen's words, _He is in a very delicate state of mind right now._ He smirked under his mask and turned back towards the computer. Slade could use this to his advantage; _Yes, this was going to be a lot of fun._

* * *

Robin woke up depressed and grumpy, back in his room. Everything was the same but all of the medical equipment had been removed, Robin had to heal on his own now. He recalled his meeting with Slade and cringed at how stupid he had been to head in without thinking and now he was paying the price. His body felt like lead and very time he tried to move his arm a sharp pain raced through from where Slade had forced his arm into the lock.

Robin was still confused why Slade didn't just take him down from the start; it was obvious he could have done it. He was also confused at why Slade was so adamant that Robin becomes his apprentice. There are plenty of other people out there that Slade could choose from, the League of Assassins for instance. They are all well trained and have no trouble about killing, unlike Robin. So, why him? His mentor was _the_ Batman; Slade must be mad if he wanted to anger him.

Robin's thoughts then soon drifted to Batman. Would he still be looking for Robin? Of course he would, Batman wouldn't give up him and he wouldn't give up on Batman. The argument that they had just before Joker took Robin didn't matter anymore, Robin just wanted to go home. Like Batman said, he was only taken off from being Robin for a short while. He would soon be back in the cape and being Batman's partner, watching his back as they patrolled the streets. It gave Robin hope and allowed himself a smile, knowing that Batman would still be looking for him. He could always count on him.

Robin looked to towards the bedside table and noticed a glass of water and a sandwich had been left for him. He frowned and turned his nose up at the food, he didn't think he could stomach anything at the moment. Coming to a decision, Robin rose from his bed and made his way over to the door. Now that he knew what Slade wanted, Robin decided to check the room in case there was any chance he could attempt an escape. Before he knew it was Slade who had come to his aid Robin had no reason to feel the need to plan an escape route, either that or he was too high on drugs to think straight. But now that Robin knew he was not safe, he quickly got to work to scope the room.

But progress was slow; his wounds had become agitated from his fight with Slade so he couldn't walk faster than a snail's pace without pain racing through his body. As he thought when he reached the door, it had been locked and so Robin walked over to the windows, only to find that they had been locked too. Robin frowned and picked up the desk chair, he took a deep breath and threw the chair at the window. He steeled himself, ready for the loud sound of shattered glass. But he was disappointed as he only heard a dull thud as the chair hit the floor, barely making a mark on the window. Of course Slade would have reinforced the glass; Robin knew it was foolish to try.

He looked down at his arms and saw them shake slightly; Robin still wasn't in great shape and was still pretty weak. But he was still determined to find any escape route and so made his way over to the bookshelf; Robin placed his hands over the back of the furniture and felt a slight breeze. He paused and waited, unsure to whether he just imagined it or not. After a few moments another light breeze caressed the back of his hand and Robin decided to move the bookshelf out to see what was behind. Unfortunately for Robin, the bookshelf was large and heavy and he was only just able to move it out an inch from where it was previously due to his weakened state.

Peering behind the bookshelf, Robin felt a dash of hope. Hidden behind the bookshelf was a small air vent just large enough for Robin to fit through, he could escape! But the air vent was screwed shut and without Robin's equipment he wasn't going to be able to get the cover off. Also Robin knew that he wasn't in a good enough condition to attempt to escape anyway, he was already tired and had just moved the bookshelf an inch.

He stood and began pacing the room, thinking about his options. Soon Robin finally came to a decision. He realised he was going to have to bide his time and wait for the right time to make the attempt when he was feeling better. Robin also knew Slade was going to let him out of his room at some point so he could find the equipment he needed then, it also gave Robin an opportunity to find out more about Slade, his plans and any upcoming missions that he could take all of it back and report it to Batman. He nodded his head, it sounded like a plan. Robin quickly moved the bookshelf back to its original position and made his way back to his bed. It was time to play the waiting game.

* * *

Robin was lying on his bed when Wintergreen finally made an appearance. He casted glance in the man's direction before looking back up at the ceiling. Robin didn't know what to make of Wintergreen anymore. He felt slightly betrayed by the man; over the past week Robin had grown to like him, he nursed Robin back to health and kept him company when he was bored. He reminded Robin of Alfred, so in a way, it made finding out he was working for Slade a lot harder.

Robin lazily watched Wintergreen approach him and saw him cast a glance at the untouched meal,

"You really should eat something Robin."

"I'm not hungry, why should you care anyway?" He replied coldly

"I'm only concerned for your health, it took a while for your injuries to heal sufficiently and I don't want the effort to go to waste because you refuse to eat."

Robin said nothing and looked once again to the ceiling. Wintergreen sighed,

"Slade wishes to see you." Wintergreen spoke and watched as Robin pushed himself into a sitting position on his bed, other than that he didn't move and just stared across the room.

"I don't care." He muttered.

"It wasn't optional." Wintergreen's voice was cold and emotionless and Robin couldn't help but wince. His eyes flittered towards Wintergreen for a moment, he knew he had no friends here.

"I would consider going now, if I call Slade he will drag you there himself and I don't think you're in any condition to stop him." He threatened. Robin looked up and glared at the man but Wintergreen merely returned his glare with an empty look and Robin knew straight away that the man would have no problem in calling Slade and making true his threat, so Robin reluctantly got out of bed and walked to the door.

"Fine." He grumbled.

* * *

Slade was busy checking up on Batman and the rest of the League on his computer while he waited for Robin. He couldn't help but smile, everything was going according to plan and all he had to do was keep Robin busy for a little while longer before the real fun began. He closed down the screen as he heard Wintergreen enter the room with a reluctant Robin.

"Thank you Wintergreen, you may leave us now." Wintergreen nodded and casted one last look at Robin before exiting the room, leaving them alone.

"Robin, take a seat." He gestured to the only seat in the middle of the room. Robin looked slightly hesitant before he made his way over and sat down, a scowl placed firmly on his face. He knew that Slade wanted him in the chair so he could tower over him and give the feeling of authority over him, Robin had seen Batman do it all the time and he knew that it worked, but Robin wasn't going to let Slade get to him.

"I hope you won't start another fight today Robin."

"Not unless you start one." Slade gave a hollow chuckle and Robin felt a shiver run down his spine, he watched as Slade slowly walked up to him until he was towering over him.

"Tell me Robin, do I make you nervous?" Robin grimaced and looked away, saying nothing. Yes, Slade made him nervous, but he wasn't going to show it. Slade was only trying to mess with his head.

"Robin, I asked you a question."

"No."

Robin knew he knew that he was lying, but he wasn't going to tell Slade the truth. There was a moment of silence between them but Robin could feel Slade's stare on him, Robin tried hard not to fidget in his seat.

"Batman will find me, you know."

"Oh really?" Slade sounded amused.

"Yes, and when he does he's going to kick your ass." Robin said defiantly. It sounded childish, but to Robin it was the truth.

"I highly doubt that."

"Why?"

"You really need me to explain?" when Slade was met with silence he continued. "Very well. After your argument with the Big Bad Bat you left without a word and made your way to Gotham city without telling anyone. You were then attacked and taken by a psychopath who merely took you because he saw you on the other side of the street, no real plan in hand but to torture you. After two days of hell I then came in and took you from Joker and brought you here before Batman showed up and stormed the place only to find that you were taken again." Slade watched as Robin's face grew paler as he explained.

"And finally it has already been a month since I took you from Joker and Batman still has not turned up to take you away back home. So, you tell me Robin. Do you still believe Batman is going to show?"

Robin had no answer; Slade had just confirmed what Robin had denied to himself. Batman had no idea where Robin was, and probably wouldn't be able to find him. Robin was all alone.

"Regardless, why would Batman come looking for you anyway? He has no reason to."

This brought Robin back from his thoughts and he snapped his head towards Slade.

"What do you mean?" he growled out and Slade shrugged,

"Well, he has stopped you from being Robin. Obviously he doesn't trust you enough, so why would he waste his breath on you when he could easily find himself a new partner."

"What?" Robin said breathlessly, eyes wide. "No-no he would never…" Robin shook his head and glared at the man in front of him. "No. I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work, quit messing with my head. Batman will find me; I know he hasn't given up on me."

Slade didn't look worried at all and only watched Robin, slightly impressed by his stubbornness,

"I will _never _work for you! You can't force me." Robin spat.

"I'm not going to force you." He spoke calmly,

"But still you're holding me captive!"

"I am keeping you here, locked away in your room because you are simply too injured to be wondering around at this moment. When you have recovered more, you will be allowed to roam the mansion as you please; it is up to you how you are treated here Robin."

This only confused the boy, it sounded like Slade was actually concerned for his health. He had never had a conversation like this with a villain before, in a way it felt _wrong_.

Robin felt himself growing tired again; his conversation with Slade was taking a lot out of him and he was running out of energy to argue, maybe he should have eaten the sandwich.

"Why can't you just let me go? I don't want to be your apprentice." confusion evident in his voice.

"Because I have seen a lot of potential in you Robin, potential that is going to waste as long as you stay with the Batman. If you join me, you could unlock that potential and become the best. There would be nothing you can't do."

"No, I work with Batman! He gave me everything, taught me everything I know, I'm not going to betray him like that. He wouldn't do that to me." He ended weakly, looking down at the floor. The silence continued as Robin got lost in his thoughts.

"If that is true Robin," Slade spoke quietly, enough to bring Robin's attention back to him. "Then why hasn't he found you already?"

He watched as Robin's eyes widened slightly and Slade could see the question bounce back and forth in Robin's mind_. That was enough for today_, Slade thought. He had successfully planted a seed of doubt in Robin's mind and now all he would have to do is leave Robin to contemplate his words and leave him with his thoughts.

Robin could vaguely hear Slade call Wintergreen back into the room and lead him back to his room, as they entered Wintergreen paused for a moment next the boy before leaving him alone. But Robin barely noticed, too wrapped up in his own thoughts.

Could what Slade say be true? No, Batman would never! But it _has _been a month…where is he?...

Robin walked over to his bed and lay down. For a few hours Robin remained awake with his thoughts until slowly his heavy eyelids closed and he drifted off into a fitful sleep.

**xxxxxxx**

**Sooooo, what do you all think? **

**review and let me know :)**

**See you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi, PhoenixcFlame here!**

**Once again I just want to thank everyone for their reviews, it means alot and I appretiate the constructive critisim :)**

**Ummm, nope I don't think I have any messages to give apart from exams are coming up so I may post later than usual, cus I have to revise :(**

**Let me know if you have any questions or anything!**

**enjoy the chapter!**

**xxxxxxx**

Slade had decided to leave Robin alone the next day so he could continue to think on everything that had been said. Slade knew that his one little _talk_ with Robin wasn't going to be enough to persuade him, but it did allow that little extra bit of doubt to enter Robin's mind.

It also gave Slade a chance to catch up on all of his other work; just because he made it his goal to have an apprentice didn't mean he gave up his other duties. His high ranking in the criminal underworld meant that he had to work extra hard to keep it that way. That meant he had to keep all of his records up to date: missions, haunts, contacts, blackmail, employers, equipment, money and other villains. It was a lot of work to be the best.

He also had to make sure not to cause any suspicion in either the hero community or villain; it would be bad if the heroes found out about him before he was ready, he could have the entire Justice League at his doorstep just yet.

So he sat in his office for most of the day and continued to work quietly, Wintergreen came in silently at one point and dropped off some lunch before leaving again without a word. Slade raised an eyebrow at his friend as he exited the door and figured that the man was still angry at him for not listening to him. He was probably going to continue to be angry at Slade until he either apologised (which wasn't going to happen) or try to be more reasonable with the boy, rather than breaking him; which was something that Slade was considering more. He sighed and rose from his chair, taking a look at the clock on the wall of his study, 2:30.

* * *

Robin was bored. He had been left alone all day and Wintergreen hadn't spoken a word to him as he brought his meals. Robin tried to occupy his mind with potential strategies for his escape but his mind kept wondering; he had woken up way too early in the morning and was unable to get back to sleep, his mind still lingering on Slade's words.

He knew exactly what Slade was trying to do and it angered him; partially because of the way Slade made it look like Batman was the bad man, but mostly because in some sense Robin had believed him. Slade had managed to break down some of Robin's defences and make him start to question his mentor. Robin flushed with anger just at the thought.

He was staring blankly at the wall when Slade finally decided to pay him a visit. He came in silently and waited patiently for Robin to acknowledge his presence but all he got was a slight glance in his general direction.

"Did you sleep well?" Slade questioned and Robin didn't respond,

Slade could feel himself grow frustrated. "Robin, I asked you a question." Robin was going to have to work on his manners; there was only so much disrespect Slade could take.

"Fine." He mumbled, at least he responded.

"Good."

More silence followed as Slade continued to watch Robin and the boy couldn't help but squirm underneath his sharp gaze.

"Would you like to join me in a bit of training?" Slade asked out of the blue and Robin looked up in surprise.

"What? Why?" Robin asked cautiously, eyes narrowing.

"Because it is not healthy for a young boy like yourself to spend all of his time lying in bed." Robin looked away,

"No." Was his blunt reply, but Slade could see the tempted look in his eye, he didn't push it,

"Suit yourself." Slade shrugged and left the room.

Robin unclenched his fists and let out the breath he was holding once he heard the door close behind him. A look of confusion passed across his face; that was it? No rants or being talked down at?

Robin had to admit that he was itching to do some exercise; being coped up in the same room for two weeks wasn't good for him. But Robin refused to let Slade get to him and continued to stare at the wall, determined not to give him the satisfaction.

The same thing happened the next day. Robin would be left alone all day and then Slade would come in again and offer to train with him, Robin would refuse but each time he asked Robin would feel himself wanting to go more and more. His body itching to move, to get the adrenaline pumping around his body.

Wintergreen didn't stay and talk with Robin anymore, either Slade didn't want Wintergreen to talk with Robin or he just didn't want to converse with the boy, Robin didn't know. But slowly Robin could feel himself grow a little crazy with the lack of human contact. Robin was a performer; he enjoyed interacting with people and having relationships, it was just part of who he was. So the sudden loss of any contact with people, minus Slade, was beginning to take its toll.

The fourth day was no different; Robin was reading a random novel when Slade entered his room.

"Robin, I'm going to train. Would you care to join me?" he asked pleasantly. He was met with silence and was about to turn and leave the room when a voice called to him.

"Why?" Robin asked; his book lay forgotten on the bed.

"Why not." Slade shrugged and gave a small smirk under his mask, although Robin couldn't see it. Slade met Robin's gaze and saw that he was torn whether or not to join him and Slade coud tell that all he needed was a little push.

"What else is there better to do? Come and train with me or remain in your room doing nothing. The choice is yours Robin." Slade turned and walked out of the room, leaving the door open behind him.

Robin stared at it for a moment, weighing his options. If he went Robin felt like he was betraying Batman somehow, but if he stayed Robin knew he was going to go crazy. He couldn't stand being kept in this room. It was only training right? Robin slowly made his way to the door and saw Slade waiting patiently outside for him. Without turning, Slade began to make his way down the corridor, silently ordering Robin to follow him. Robin took once last look at him room; it was like Slade said, what else is there to do?

* * *

Slade reached the door to the gym and beckoned Robin inside. The boy couldn't help but stare at the vast amount of training equipment laid out in front of him; all along the wall of the room were weights and weapons each waiting to be used. In the centre of the room was a padded floor, good for sparring. The room was large and held enough space to do laps and as Robin looked to the ceiling he saw beams from which he could practice his acrobatics, this place was great.

Slade watched as robin continued to look around at the room,

"You are free to come here whenever you want Robin." Robin tore his eyes from the room and sent a glare at Slade.

"I thought I was being held hostage in my room." Robin spat.

"No, you have always been allowed to come here. You only had to ask." Slade replied calmly, ignoring Robin's attitude. Robin only looked at Slade, unable to find a good comeback and walked to the centre of the room.

Slade got them both to warm up and begin with a gentle spar. Robin was reluctant at first, considering this was the guy who kidnapped him, but soon began to get into the swing of things and slowly he increased the rate of his attacks, relishing the feeling of moving around.

Slade said nothing as they continued to fight, which Robin had no problem with. It was times like these that Robin enjoyed most, apart from being on the trapeze, where he could just forget everything and let out his frustrations. But that moment ended too soon as Slade brought them to a stop.

"You're good, Robin. Very talented and with a little bit of training, unstoppable."

Robin looked up from where he was standing and glared at Slade,

"I told you, I already have a mentor to train me." He spoke.

"But if you train with me, you could be even greater." A moment of silence,

"Batman is the greatest trainer." Robin growled.

"Batman is weak." Slade growled back, getting fed up with Robin's loyalty to Batman.

"He is not weak!" Robin argued,

"He is too weak to go that final bit to finally get rid of the criminals, to kill." Slade countered

"That's because it's wrong to kill!" Robin shouted.

"Is it? What about the ones who deserve it, the rapists, the murderers? They break people apart, destroy lives, families. You are saying that they don't deserve to be punished?"

"Of course they do! Just not by death, no one deserves to be killed. They should be sent to court and tried for their actions."

"So they go to prison and then are set free, and commit the crime all over again?" Slade argued,

"Yes! I mean, no! Just shut up!" Robin shouted. Slade shook his head,

"No Robin, there is only one way to cleanse the world from people like them and that is to get rid of them, _permanently_."

"No!" Robin screamed and ran at Slade again, starting another fight.

It went pretty much the same as their spar, Robin continued to attack and defend as Slade blocked and countered, except this time there was a lot more force behind Robin's attacks.

"Good Robin, but you're placing too much weight on you left leg when you lunge."

"Shut up!" Robin responded, but took in Slade's advice and the man could already see Robin trying to correct his mistake as they continued to fight.

"You rotate too much when you kick with your right leg." Robin growled and continued his assault. But slowly Slade could feel the atmosphere in the room lower as Robin calmed down for his outburst. After a while Slade could feel that Robin was decreasing the force of his attacks, more sparring than fighting. Slade decided to continue to give advice and Robin no longer argued back but silently took in the information and attempted to improve and learn from his mistakes as they fought.

After a while Robin must have come to realise that he was listening to Slade as an apprentice would and quickly flipped away from the man, allowing himself a breather. Slade didn't do anything but watch the boy as confusion rose onto his face.

"I don't understand." Robin spoke quietly,

"What don't you understand?"

"Why you would pick me. You say that I have potential and that you need a successor, but I work with Batman, I am _his _apprentice. There are plenty of other people out there, the league of shadows for instance. So why _me_?"

Slade took a moment before answering, should he tell Robin? Yes, it looked like it might be the right time to do so. Slade brought himself to his full height.

"Well, you know I have been looking for a long while for someone to become my successor. I need someone who is intelligent, able to follow orders and think for themselves. Not just anyone will do, I have a reputation to keep." Slade paused a moment to watch Robin.

"Like you said, I had searched many organisations, such as the league of shadows and league of assassins, but no one seemed to fit. Then I saw you. You had all of these things that I was looking for and to top it all off, you had something that none of the others had. The drive to be the best you can be, to go that extra mile and let nothing stop you. That's why."

Robin was speechless as he stared at the man in front of him, that's not how a villain should act. They were supposed to care only about themselves and have some sort of crazy plan to kill everyone, they were supposed to be evil.

"What's wrong Robin?" Slade spoke after Robin didn't reply for a while. "Wasn't expecting to see a cold hearted mercenary to be nice?" He sneered and Robin's head shot up, it was as if he read Robin's thoughts.

"No!" he defended "It's just…wasn't what I was expecting." He muttered in reply.

"Well, what were you expecting?" Slade questioned slight amusement in his voice. Robin looked to the floor.

"I don't know," He muttered again, "Just not that." Another silence followed as Robin continued to look anywhere but at Slade. Robin hardly ever felt uncomfortable, always able to turn any awkward situation light and fun. But here at this moment Robin could do anything but that.

"Look….can I just go back to my room please? I've had enough for today." Slade nodded and Robin turned back to the exit and lowly made his way to the exit. Slade called to Robin just as he reached the door,

"Just head straight back to your room Robin, no detours." Robin didn't turn around but Slade could see him nod absentmindedly as he exited the gym.

True to his word Robin went straight back to his room and quickly got into the shower, washing away the days grime. He spent a good twenty minutes standing under the shower, letting the hot water cascade down his body. He was confused, wondering why he listened to Slade and went straight to his room, but after a while Robin had convinced himself that Slade would have found him quickly and drag him back. He was scared of the alternative.

Seeing that his skin was turning red from standing under the water for too long Robin reluctantly stepped out and dried himself off. He quickly got changed and exited the room to find Wintergreen waiting patiently by the door.

"Robin" he spoke, "Slade requests that you accompany him to dinner."

Robin nodded his consent, it was better than eating another alone in his room. Besides Slade wasn't that bad, Robin still hadn't come to a decision on what he thought about the man, he was still a murderer; but at the moment, Robin didn't know what to believe.

Wintergreen looked slightly surprised at how quickly robin had agreed to dinner, he was expecting to have to threaten the boy in order for him to agree. _Something must have happened when they were training_, Wintergreen thought.

"Very well, let's go." He turned and made his way out of the room, Robin silently following. As they wondered down the corridor Robin paused and it took a few seconds for Wintergreen to realise he had stopped.

"Wintergreen?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you work for Slade? I mean, he's a murderer, a mercenary." Robin had to know, it had been bugging him for a while now.

"He saved my life." Wintergreen spoke quietly.

"What? Really?" Robin asked, interested.

"Yes," Wintergreen nodded and started to walk again. Robin keeping closer now to hear what the man had to say and Wintergreen tilted his head to look back at him.

"I'm not sure if Slade wants you to know this, but before he became a mercenary we were in the army together, and close friends. During my time there I had developed an enemy of my commanding officer and he had sent me on a suicidal mission, in which I was captured by the enemy and held as their prisoner. Slade soon found out and commandeered a plane, disobeying orders, to come and rescue me. He saved me of course, I have never seen a man look so determined before; I owe him my life." He ended quietly and continued his way; he cast a glance at Robin and saw him absorbing the information.

"But how can you work for him now, sure he may have been a hero then but now he's a murderer who kills in cold blood for money. How can you work with a man like that?"

Wintergreen shot a look at Robin, who silenced. "Don't make assumptions when you don't know the whole story." He snapped and then sighed.

"Slade hasn't had an easy life, I can tell you that much. As for his line of work, Slade doesn't just take on any jobs. He has principles and only kills those who he believes deserve to be punished, he doesn't kill women or children, for the most part either. He spends hours, sometimes days, researching his target before making the kill. He tells me that it's so he won't make a mistake, but I believe that he spends so much time on them to make sure that they deserve it before he finishes the job."

Wintergreen paused as he stopped in front of the dining room door. "Anyway, Slade is through here. If you take your seat, dinner will be ready shortly." He opened the door for Robin and let him enter, just as Robin passed he heard Wintergreen mutter,

"You two are very alike." Robin turned around to face him but the man had disappeared off somewhere, presumably to the kitchen and Robin made his way over to his chair, opposite to Slade.

Neither of them said a word as they waited for Wintergreen, each on either end of the large table. Slade had some documents laid out in front of him and was making notes while Robin digested his conversation with Wintergreen, lost in his thoughts. Wintergreen appeared a few minutes after and laid out in front of them a roast dinner.

Robin waited before he started to eat his own food, curious to how Slade would eat with his mask on. Was he going to take it off? Would Robin finally get to see his face? Slowly Slade reached up to his mask and Robin swallowed, he could feel himself leaning forward in his chair. A click was heard, and Slade removed the bottom of his mask, so that only his mouth was visible, with what Robin could see a white beard.

Robin huffed and leaned back in his chair, of course Slade wasn't going to show his entire face! He was an idiot to think so.

"Hmm? Is something wrong Robin?" Slade questioned as he picked up his knife and fork. Robin sighed and picked up his own utensils.

"No, nothing." And they began to eat in silence.

After the meal and Wintergreen cleared away the dishes Slade put on the rest of his mask again and Robin asked a question that had been bothering him for some time.

"Why have you left my mask on? Don't you want to know who I really am?" Robin questioned. He was still sat in his chair but leaned forward to hear the answer. Slade didn't look perplexed by the question.

"I have always known who you were, _Richard_, long before you came to this house. I just have no reason to see why it is necessary."

Robin froze at the sound of his name. His worst fear had come true, his identity had been compromised. Bruce was in danger and so was the entire League.

"Of course it was necessary! If you know who I am then you know who Batman is…" Robin finished.

"You don't need to worry Richard-"

"-Don't call me Richard." Robin growled and Slade raised a hand,

"Fine… Robin. I have no interest in your day time persona, or Batman's in that matter. I was only ever interested in your skills, not your background. We won't have a problem unless you make it a problem, alright?"

"Fine." Robin growled again, cautiously. Did Slade really mean what he said, that he wasn't going to use his identity against him? That was what he was implying. No, Robin knew that he had to be extra careful around the man now.

"Robin." Slade started, realising what Robin was probably thinking. "This doesn't change anything. I want you as my apprentice and I promise that I will not use your identity against you."

Robin didn't know how to respond, or how to think anymore. Everything was just getting so confusing. Why was Slade being nice to him and treating him with respect. Why couldn't he be like all the other villains, torture him and leave him for dead. Where the line between good and evil was so clear to Robin, now he wasn't so sure.

He stood from his place at the table,

"I'm going to my room." He stated and without looking at Slade he quickly made his way to the exit, Slade didn't make a move to stop him and only watch him as he left, another thing which confused him.

Why was everything getting so complicated?

**xxxxxx**

**So what do you guys think?**

**Review and let me know :)**

**See you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi, PhoenixxFlame here!**

**I'm super sorry that this chapter is a little later to be uploaded but revision for my upcoming exams is taking control over my life at the moment. I've hardly had enough time to write this. But oh well!**

**I really love your reviews and seeing how you think the story is turning out, so keep them coming!**

**Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!**

**xxxxxxx**

Since Robin found out that Slade knew his identity he could feel himself fall into a routine, and quickly a whole week flew by. He would wake up at 6:30 every morning and head over to the gym to get some exercise done, he could slowly feel his strength come back to him the more he trained and Robin knew that soon he would be back to full health.

After about an hour Wintergreen would enter the gym and announce that breakfast would be ready in ten minutes, this would give enough time for Robin to head back to his room and have a shower so he would kindly thank wintergreen and exit the gym. Wintergreen had stopped following Robin around anymore knowing that the boy would head straight back to his room with no detours.

Robin would then sit at the breakfast table and make small talk with Slade while they ate their food, Wintergreen flittering around the room next to them. Neither of them brought up their previous conversation and Robin had no intension to, Slade had already given him a lot to think about. Robin had also learned that Slade had expected him to help Wintergreen with the daily chores so after every meal he would help wash the dishes and tidy everything away. Robin didn't mind helping Wintergreen out, he had a soft spot for the elderly man; he reminded Robin a lot of Alfred although Wintergreen was a lot more reserved than Alfred.

But Robin hadn't forgotten about his escape route while he helped around. He had successfully managed to smuggle a knife that he could use to unscrew the screws which attached the air vent to the wall. It was currently placed underneath his mattress and hopefully well hidden, ready to be used.

Slade had also managed to persuade Robin to have a daily training session with him. Robin had obliged, eager to get more practice in. Slade was a great opponent for Robin; he encouraged him and never let robin win, always pushing him and occasionally teaching Robin some new techniques. Slade was much like Batman in that sense, always analysing his moves and calculating the best methods Robin should take. But Robin felt that something was different as he trained with the man, something that he never really got from Batman, respect.

Robin could feel how Slade had respect for his skill set and almost treated him as an equal, more than Batman had ever shown when Dick was in uniform.

Robin has a feeling that that was why he wasn't in a hurry to escape, he felt oddly content with his situation. It was where Robin could forget most of his troubles as Slade hadn't brought up anything from the outside world since their last chat. But part of him still thought that what he was doing was wrong, he shouldn't trust Slade and he should escape and get back to his team as soon as possible. But Robin kept shrugging off the voice. _There was no rush, _he thought and continued to persuade himself that he was staying for some ulterior motive, to find out what Slade's plans were and stop him. Either way, Robin remained.

The Boy Wonder himself was sleeping peacefully in his bed, but felt himself slowly wake as he felt how dry his tongue had become. He turned onto his side and reached over to his bed side lamp, switching it on. He moaned as he realised he didn't have any water and begrudgingly rose from his comfy spot and shuffled his way out of his room.

Robin regretted not putting on an extra layer as he walked through the corridors towards the kitchen. He was dressed in a plain black T-shirt and grey sweats, hardly enough to keep himself warm. As soon as he entered the kitchen he quickly filled a glass of water and took a swig before refilling it and began shuffling his way back to his room.

Just as Robin passed down the corridor, he began to hear voices coming from further along the corridor. Robin saw the light pass from under the gap of one of the doors and grew curious, this door was always locked to him before and without his tools Robin was unable to pick it open. As he grew closer he could begin to hear and identify the voices, they belonged to slade and Wintergreen.

As he approached the door Robin found that it was open slightly and was able to peak in. What he saw brought him crashing back down to reality. The two men were standing in a room filled with all sorts of equipment; swords, guns, maps, knives, computers, you name it. It was obvious to Robin that this is where Slade prepared for his 'work'.

Robin watched as Slade slowly began to take off his bloody uniform and pass it to Wintergreen, who placed it in a rack. Robin almost shrunk back in fear at the sight of Slade in his bloody uniform, the splattered blood made the man look downright evil, even more so than usual.

"You're getting sloppy Slade." Wintergreen stated as he took care of the uniform.

"It wasn't my fault the bastard refused to die, decided to try and take me down with him as I shot him." Slade grumbled, still with his mask on.

"Well perhaps next time you should make sure to take careful aim, I really hate it when you get blood everywhere. It takes forever to wash out."

Slade let out a slight chuckle.

"Whatever you say Wintergreen."

Robin just stared at them with his mouth open. They were discussing a man's murder as though they were talking about the weather!

Robin couldn't believe it as he finally saw the truth. How could he have stood by this man and happily train with him?! This man was a cold blooded murderer and Robin had shared his meals with him, talked with him and trained with him. Robin couldn't believe at how quickly he had grown to accept the man, the thought made him sick.

His thoughts trailed to Batman, how would he take it? To know that Robin had been hanging around with a mercenary, relaxing, while Batman continued to search for him, probably worried sick. Robin mentally began to count how long he had been missing, two months! How could he have just sat there and lounge around for so long without even realising how everyone else must have been fairing? Why did he not escape while he had the chance? Everything was set up in his room, so why didn't he go?

Robin thought about it for a while as he continued to watch the two men inside the room. Then he came up with the answer, Slade. He manipulated Robin and made him feel safe. He played with his emotions and used his weaknesses against him, piecing it together he realised that Slade knew all along his troubles with Batman and exploited them; trying to turn Robin against his mentor. And what's worse, it was working; until Robin found the truth. Anger raced through Robin's veins as he came to the conclusion, he hated being manipulated.

Without thinking, Robin slammed open the door, and the two men turned to his direction. No one spoke for a moment as they watched the boy, the anger written all over his face as he glared hatefully in Slade's direction.

"Ahh, Robin. What brings you here?" Slade spoke calmly, somehow undisturbed at Robin's sudden appearance and continued to take off his armour and weapons.

"I shall wait outside." Wintergreen stated and Slade nodded. The elderly man walked past Robin and out the door, but Robin didn't shift his gaze from Slade.

"How!?..Why!?" Robin started but didn't know how to finish. "How can you do this?!" Robin growled and Slade looked momentarily confused.

"I have never hidden my expertise from you Robin, you knew this from the beginning." Slade spoke carefully.

"I know but why?"

"Because it needs to be done, these people deserve it." Slade tone turned dark.

"But you lied to me!" Robin shouted, his anger fuelling him and Robin could barely register what he was saying.

"I have never lied to you. Robin, what's this about?" Slade asked cautiously, placing down the armour he had in his hands.

"You said you weren't going to force me to become your apprentice!"

"I haven't forced you to do anything Robin; you did it from your own free will." Robin was momentarily taken aback by the comment, knowing it was true. Slade had only offered and Robin agreed on his own. He shook his head from the thought.

"But you manipulated me to do so! You said that I had potential, that I could be great! You lied to me so that I would train with you and make me your apprentice."

Slade shook his head. "I told you Robin I haven't lied to you. I _do _see potential in you, I mean what I told you the other day; otherwise I wouldn't want you as my apprentice."

Robin paused and looked to the ground. Slade hadn't done anything against what Robin wanted, except when he first arrived. But after that Robin had the choice, he could have escaped at any time but he remained and trained with Slade and helped Wintergreen.

"But you're trying to turn me against Batman." Robin spoke, quieter this time.

"I wasn't trying to turn you against Batman, I was only stating facts. He hasn't come for you yet and probably won't. It has been two months." Slade spoke coldly.

"You're lying! You're doing it right now, I can believe that I was starting to actually trust-" Robin cut off short. "Anyway, it doesn't matter now, I won't believe what you say." He spoke quieter.

Slade growled, "Must we continuously go back to the same thing? I have not lied to you, Robin. If anyone has lied to you, it would be Batman."

"What? No, Batman would never lie to me!" Robin argued.

Slade straightened from his spot. "Fine." He spoke dangerously that sent a shiver of fear down Robin's spine, he walked up close to Robin so that he was looking down at him; making Robin feel inferior and he felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek.

"I didn't want to have to show you this Robin, but you leave me no choice." He growled and walked out of the room. "Follow me." He commanded.

Robin didn't hesitant and followed the man out into the corridor, still slightly terrified. He noticed Wintergreen waiting patiently outside and follow the pair as they took off down the corridor, Robin glanced at the man and saw a sad expression on his face. Robin was slightly confused at the sight but put it to the back of his mind as he raced after Slade.

Slade had brought Robin to his study and walked over to the computers at the back of the room. Robin waited silently as the man brought up a newspaper article on the screen.

"Read." Slade commanded. Robin slowly walked up to the computer and took a harp intake of breath.

The title of the newspaper heading read as: _Criminal Tony Zucco Broken out of Prison, Police yet to find._

Robin felt anger rush through him but he kept his face neutral as he turned to look at Slade, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"So, you know my background. What does this have to do with Batman?" Robin spoke low, barely containing the hatred he felt for both the man on the screen and the man in front of him,

"He intentionally hid this information from you Robin." Slade spoke, his one grey eye constantly watching Robin for his reaction. He watched as the boy visibly recoiled at his comment.

"What!? No, Batman wouldn't hide this from me. For all I know it could have happened after I was kidnapped by Joker _or_ by you!" Robin argued, refusing to believe Slade's lies.

Slade looked on at Robin calmly and titled his head to the side,

"Oh really?" he questioned

"Yes."

"Then by all means Robin, check the date of the newspaper; if you have so much faith in your mentor."

Robin frowned at Slade's mocking tone and turned back to face the computer, he glanced at the date: _Tuesday_ _16__th__ August _

Robin felt a ball of doubt drop into his stomach. The date that the article was published was published four days before Batman banished Robin to the mountain, did Bruce actually keep this information from Dick? He knew how important it would be to him. Robin spun around to face Slade once again,

"This doesn't prove anything! You could have tampered with the article and changed the date." Robin argued but Slade could see there was a little less fight in his eyes.

"I could have done that, couldn't I? But what would I have to gain from that?"

"To turn me against Batman and into your apprentice!" Robin spat,

"There is no need for that, Robin. It is working well enough without me having to mess with you like this; you are here from your own free will, I have no need for these tricks."

Robin remained silent as he contemplated Slade's words, and he knew that Slade was speaking the truth. He did stay from his own free will and he happily obliged with training with the man, if Robin didn't walk past the room when he did, he probably would have remained a lot longer. Robin just couldn't believe that Bruce would keep such delicate information from him; Zucco was a big part of Dick's life. To not tell him was almost unforgivable.

Robin felt his head start to pound and felt Slade watch him as he thought over the information. Slade watched in slight amusement as he saw all sorts of emotions flash across Robin's face; confusion, hurt, anger, fear, disbelief. Slade continued to watch as Robin was lost in his thoughts, eager for Robin to come up with his own conclusion.

Robin's expressions continued to flitter through different emotions until they rested on just one, fury. He couldn't stand to be in the same room as Slade and quickly barged past him and out of the door; Slade made no movement to stop him and listened as Robin stormed down the corridor. Only when Robin was out of earshot did Slade allow himself a small smirk.

* * *

Robin ran into his room and slammed his door shut with a yell. He began to pace in an attempt to calm himself down but he was too worked up to do any good, he felt hurt. He felt hurt, angry and betrayed. How could Bruce keep this from him? How could he have remained with Slade for so long? How could he have been so _stupid_?

He sat down on his bed and concentrated on his breathing; in and out, in and out. Slowly Robin could feel his heart rate begin to slow and felt himself calm down, Robin was angry but he knew he could lash out later. He had to come up with a plan of action, where to go from here.

Straight away Robin knew that he couldn't remain in this building a moment longer, so decided it was time to put his escape plan into action. Robin realised it was relatively simple with what he had to do; get out, find Gotham, find Batman and question him. Robin quickly changed into something warmer and made sure he was all set and ready to go before taking out the knife he had hidden underneath his bed. Without a second thought Robin pulled out the bookshelf and set to work on the screws, it was time to get out of here.

A few hours later Slade was working in his study on some papers when Wintergreen walked in and stood by the door,

"Slade?"

"Yes Wintergreen?" Slade questioned and turned to face the man in the doorway,

"Robin is missing; I suspect that he has ran away." Wintergreen spoke in his same emotionless voice, uncaring to anyone who didn't know him well, but Slade could pick up on how he talked that much quicker. It seemed to Slade that Wintergreen was starting to like the boy. He allowed himself a smile.

"Excellent." Wintergreen looked slightly taken aback, but quickly composed himself.

"Care to explain?"

"It's all part of the plan Wintergreen; everything is starting to come together." Wintergreen only sighed and began to walk back to the door.

"I should have known." He spoke shaking his head, "I hope you know what you're doing Slade." He cautioned.

"I always know."

"Very good would you care for a cup of tea?"

Slade nodded, "Very well, I shall bring it at once." Wintergreen turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Robin was surprised at how close Slade's mansion was situated near Gotham, much like Wayne Manor. Only Wayne manor was situated a few miles north of the city and Slade's mansion a few miles west. It was just coming to midday as Robin crossed one of the bridges into the city.

Robin had decided once he entered that the best place to go would be Mount Justice from one of the zeta tubes, he was tired and the zeta tube in Gotham was closer than the Bat Cave. On his way Robin took a quick detour to one of Batman's safe houses and changed into a spare Robin costume. He also picked up another utility belt and his weapons and spent a moment just to sit down and eat something, going over everything in his head. It was one big mess and tired Robin out just thinking about it, the only option Robin had was to confront Batman directly about it; to know the truth. He would think about what to do next after.

After his break Robin stood and began to stretch his muscles, he smiled as he felt the extra weight of his equipment; now he felt ready. Robin quietly exited the safe house and walked into an abandoned alleyway without being seen, in a flash Robin had pulled out his grappling gun and launched himself into the air.

He attempted to try and plan what he was going to say when he finally got to the mountain as he travelled through the city, but every time he ran through it Robin could feel himself get angry and frustrated. So instead, he shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts as he soared through the air and concentrated on reaching the zeta tube, eager to get his talk with Batman over and done with.

* * *

Inside the mountain Batman stood typing away on the computers in silence. He was organising and sorting missions for the Young justice team, it wasn't what he wanted to be doing right now, but it was his turn to watch the teens. All Bruce wanted to do was search for Dick, but Clark had insisted that he take a break. Bruce had at first refused but Clark had begun to threaten him; Bruce wasn't in the mood to argue so decided to help sort out the files in the mountain and keep them up to date.

"_Take a break or I swear I will call Alfred."_ Where Clark's exact words. Bruce smirked and shook his head at the threat, it was weird to think the man of steel would threaten to call the butler, but he knew that Alfred was the only one Bruce would actually listen too.

Batman continued to type within the comforting silence of the mountain when the overhead voice announced an arrival, '_Robin B-01'_.

Batman froze with his fingers still resting on the holographic keyboard. Could it really be Robin?

He turned slowly to where the zeta tubes were positioned, the signature bright light formed into a body shape as Robin stepped into the mountain. There wasn't much that could shock Batman, but seeing the sight of his ward alive and well definitely made the cut.

"Robin?" he spoke quietly, Robin said nothing but walked over to him

His eyes scanned over Robin's body, checking for any sign of injury as the boy made his way and he let out a breath as he saw that Robin was fine, looking better than ever. He was in a clean uniform and didn't look malnourished, there were no visible injuries and Robin walked with no limp, he looked in good condition. He didn't seem to notice the anger in Robin's eyes,

"Dick-Robin…where were you?-"

"-is it true?" Robin interrupted, any sort of plan Robin had was gone. As soon as he saw Batman he grew angry, he wanted answers now.

Batman frowned, that was not the greeting he was expecting, "What are you talking about?" he asked,

"Zucco."

Batman's face hardened, "Robin this isn't the time for that." He quickly changed the subject. "How are you? Where have you been?"

Robin just shook his head and ignored Batman's other questions. "No, I want to talk about it now." He glared at Batman. "Is it true that Zucco's escaped?"

"Robin, we will discuss it later." He spoke as though talking to a child.

"Answer the question!" Robin growled. He felt himself grow even angrier at how Batman attempted to dodge the question. Why won't he give him a straight answer?

Batman said nothing for a moment, "Yes." He spoke at last.

Robin felt his chest tighten and he let out a shaky breath,

"How long have you known?" he asked quietly with his head lowered, afraid of the answer.

"Four days after the encounter with scarecrow." Batman spoke in a cold tone. Robin's head shot up to meet Batman's cool gaze and the Dark Knight could see the betrayal written all over Robin's face, his fists beginning to shake at his sides.

"You kept this information from me, why?" Robin's voice low and beginning to shake in anger.

"Robin, who told you thi-"

"-Why!?" Robin shouted and Batman paused for a moment before responding.

"You didn't need to know, you had just had your run in with Scarecrow and I didn't think-"

"-that's a lie! Tell me the truth!" Robin spat, and he glared at Batman,

"You weren't following my orders and were thinking irrationally."

"So you thought I would go find Zucco and kill him." Robin stated, looking Batman straight in the eye. When he didn't reply, Robin knew immediately that that was the truth. It hurt to think that Batman actually thought that Robin would do something like that, he could barely look at the man he thought of as a father.

"Bruce…" Robin pleaded, speaking quietly. "You know how important this is to me; I thought that at least you would understand. How, how could you!?" Robin shouted at the end, fuelled by his emotions. Bruce flinched at the raw emotions in Dick's voice, it was times like these Bruce remembered that Dick was only a fourteen year old kid.

"Dick, I know how important it is to you-"

"-then why would you keep it from me?" Hurt evident in his voice and Bruce didn't know how to respond, Dick continued,

"Why would you leave me at the mountain by myself? Why would stop me from being Robin? _Why didn't you rescue me?_"

Dick's voice shook as he continued to glare at the man, tears around the edges of his mask, threatening to fall. Everything Dick had cooped up over the past few months were escaping now, he felt himself being overcome with emotions as he let out all of his anger, his frustrations, his fear onto the man in front of him.

Bruce didn't know what to do as Dick shouted at him. They stood in silence as Dick's questions echoed around the hall, unanswered. Robin was breathing hard from the outburst and continued to watch Bruce, waiting for his reply. Just as Bruce opened his mouth to speak a voice spoke through the overhead speakers,

"Base this is M'gann, requesting landing permission in the hanger." Bruce held Dick's gaze for a moment longer before turning back into Batman mode and put a hand to his ear.

"Permission granted." He spoke in the ear piece.

"Great," M'gann's happy voice chirped. "We'll meet you on the pad in two minutes." And cut off the communication.

Batman turned to face Robin with an uneasy look. Robin was momentarily confused, since when did Batman look uneasy? Robin continued to watch him in silence as his eyes kept darting toward the corridor where the team would enter from. Robin narrowed his eyes, _Strange_, he thought.

Neither of them spoke as they waited and soon they could here muffled voices grow louder as they approached.

"Did you see the way I swooped in?" a loud voice spoke,

"Yeah Baywatch, we all did. Don't let it go to your head!" another argued,

"And I think you're forgetting the part where your fell on your butt Wally!" and the rest of the team laughed. Robin smiled at the familiar sound and Batman saw him visibly relax.

"Robin! You didn't have to bring that up!" Wally wined.

Robin's face fell and he visibly tensed once again, what? Did they just say Robin? He took a glance at Batman and saw him shift slightly. What the hell? He brought his attention back to the corridor as he saw figures enter the room.

Robin's eyes widened and his hands once again balled into fists at his sides. The team took a moment to notice Robin as they continued to talk. Wally was the first to notice. He stopped where he was and a look of shock passed on his face,

"R-Robin?" he questioned quietly and the rest of the team froze. One by one they all slowly looked in his direction, with expressions of shock and surprise on their faces. But Robin didn't notice them; he was too busy focused on the one figure standing in the middle of the group.

He was smaller than the rest of the team and wearing a red costume with an R over his left breast. A long black and yellow cape hung on his shoulders and on his waist was a yellow utility belt. The imposter was wearing a costume almost identical to Dick's and was staring at him in shock and awe.

But awe did not cross Dick's mind as he stared at him, fury and betrayal raced through his entire being as he glared at the boy. One thought passed through Dick's mind at that moment,

_Batman's replaced me?_

**xxxx**

**Well Robin finally left Slade, but was it a good thing? And can anyone guess who the imposter is?**

**Review and let me know what you think!**

**See you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi, PeonixxFlame here!**

**I'm glad that so many of you enjoyed the last chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it so I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've had this chapter for a couple of days now trying to get it right but I haven't had time to upload it due to revision.**

**Which reminds me, another warning that my exams are next week so I probably wont be able to upload another chapter for a couple of weeks, I have to study, it sucks but I gotta do it.**

**Umm, with this chapter Dick will be referred to as Dick the whole way through and the new Robin will be reffered to as Robin, mostly. Just to stop any confusion that may arise.**

**Anyway enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!**

**xxxx**

_Batman's replaced me?_

The room was completely silent as everyone processed what was going on. Dick was transfixed on the other Robin and the rest of Young Justice continued to stare at him, Batman stood a couple of metres behind Dick, tense and watching the scene unfold in front of him.

Wally lasted all of five seconds before running up to Dick and trapping him in a hug; he didn't seem to notice Dick's body tense up at the sudden contact, probably too caught up in the moment. The rest of the team quickly followed suit and began to welcome Dick, showering him with hugs and pats. The only people that remained motionless were Dick, Batman and the Imposter.

Dick could hear his teammates talking at him, but he couldn't take his eyes off of the other Robin. He could feel his chest tighten as he continued to stare and Dick could feel his body go numb as the shock momentarily overcame him. His body began to slightly shake and all of the team's voices began to morph into one low drone as Dick's thoughts whirled around his mind a mile a minute.

_W-why?...Why would Batman replace me? It doesn't make any sense, it's only been two months….did Batman really not trust me? Who is he? Where did Bruce find him?...Why?.._

Dick watched as the other Robin stared in awe. The boy watched as the team surrounded Dick and Dick could see the slight disappointment flicker across his face as he watched the team envelope him.

Anger suddenly erupted throughout Dick. How dare the imposter look disappointed! What gave him the right! It brought Dick out of his daze and suddenly felt very uneasy with how the team surrounded him, making him feel _very _uncomfortable.

"Stop!" he shouted and forced his way through the group; out into the open so that he had a clear view of everyone in the room. They were all shocked at his sudden outburst; Dick turned and glared at his mentor,

"What the hell is going on here!?"

Batman took a step forward "Robin-"

"Who the hell is he!?" Dick shouted and pointed into the other Robin's direction, who glared back in return. No one replied for a moment and Dick saw his team refuse to look him in the eye. He returned his attention back to Batman,

"Well?" he questioned.

"That is Robin." Batman stated calmly, there was no point in trying to hide it now.

Dick visibly recoiled and felt his body tense up. He gave a glare in Robin's direction and saw the boy bring himself up to his full height, challenging him. It only infuriated Dick more.

"Are you serious!?" his attention was brought back to Batman once again.

"I have been missing for a little over two months and you've already replaced me!?" He walked up closer to Batman and began pointing his finger into his chest.

"Did you really not trust me that much that you've decided you wanted to get yourself another partner!?" He screamed and he saw Batman's lips thin into a tight line.

"Robin…" M'gann began and Robin spun round to face them.

"Shut up!" He shouted.

"Hey!" Superboy growled, not liking the way Dick snapped at her.

"And what about you lot?" Dick started, ignoring Conner. "You're all supposed to be my friends, what the hell you are doing with this… this _imposter._"

He watched as they all looked away, a guilty look on their faces.

"Do you really not care about me? Any of you?" He asked quietly, looking at everyone in the room. Although Dick was wearing his mask, everyone could see the betrayal in his eyes, the raw emotion in his body language, his voice, his face. Everyone one could see how much they hurt him.

"Dude," Wally stepped forward, "Of course we all care for you-"

"-Then why?" Dick's voice shook as he stared at Wally. No one could think of a suitable answer and the room was silent. Then, out of nowhere there came a chuckle. Everyone looked at Dick as he had a sad smile on his face,

"So…what he said was true." Dick spoke quietly, almost to himself. Batman's eyes narrowed,

"Who said what was true?" he asked and everyone waited for an answer. His question remained unanswered as Dick stayed silent, appearing lost in thought. Artemis stepped forward,

"Well, whatever he said Robin, it's not true." She spoke calmly, afraid that any moment Dick might break. He looked up at her sharply,

"Then why is he the only one who is making any sense!?" He half shouted and glared at her. Kaldur was the next to speak,

"Robin. Who is the one you speak of?" Dick just shook his head, for some reason he felt unwilling to give up Slade's identity. Batman grabbed him by the arm and spun him around to face him,

"Robin, I need to know. Tell me." Batman growled but Dick just glared straight back and pulled his arm free, unfazed at Batman's tone.

"Why does it matter?" Dick raised his arms. "He's the only one around here who I can trust!"

"Robin you can trust us." M'gann spoke softly and Dick just gave a cold laugh.

"Trust you? How am I supposed to trust you when you trade me in as soon as it starts to look a little rough!? And him?" he pointed to Batman. "He kept one of the most important things of my life hidden from me and then replaced me with some kid! I had trust and faith in all of you to get me out of that hell with the Joker, the pain was unbearable."

Dick's voice began to crack as he relived the memories. His voice was quiet and shaking when he spoke, looking everyone in the eye. "Every day I _pleaded _for you to come and rescue me but you never did. I was left waiting for a total stranger to get me out of that-that hell! So yeah, I can _really _trust you!"

"That's where you've been all this time? With a stranger? Why didn't you come back as soon as you got free?" Conner questioned, seemingly unfazed by Dick's half confession.

Dick froze, and he knew that everyone notice him freeze up. He couldn't tell them what went on there, to say that he almost abandoned them.

"That's…not important." He grumbled. It was then that everyone seemed to notice how well Dick appeared. He looked healthy and his costume was slightly tight along his arms, where he grew extra muscle from his training with Slade.

He saw their eyes grow slightly suspicious,

"Robin?" Artemis asked, "What where you doing all this time?"

"Nothing" He argued, suddenly growing angry when he realised how quickly they were turning on him. "Don't try to turn this on me, don't you dare!" Dick's voice grew dangerous.

"Robin." Batman spoke, "We need to talk in private. Now."

"No!"

"Robin." Batman growled,

"I said no dammit!" Dick shouted and flung his hands in the air in anger, "I've been back here for five minutes and already you've all made me out to be the bad guy!? What kind of friends are you?"

He faced them once more, sending a glare to every one of them. Each held a different emotion, some were upset, some looked guilty, some stared accusingly, and others didn't show any signs of emotion at all; just a cold, calculating look.

Dick took a quick glance at the other Robin, noticing how he didn't speak throughout the entirety of the argument; Dick wondered just how much Batman told him, probably everything. He opened his mouth to speak to the boy but no words came, he just couldn't find anything to say to him. There was only anger and pain when he looked at the other Robin.

Without another look to anyone, Dick stormed out of the cave and exited the zeta tubes. No one tried to stop him.

* * *

The cave was silent as the overhead computer announced Dick's departure; no one knew what to say, they were all still coming to terms with what happened, including Batman.

The new Robin, Jason Todd, turned to his mentor,

"Br-Batman, was that…?"

Batman nodded in his direction but didn't speak, his gaze still focused on where Dick once stood. Jason saw the team look in his direction as his voice echoed throughout the silent cave and he felt slightly uncomfortable under their stares. But Jason wasn't going to be intimated and brought himself up tall and looked each of them in the eye. Frustration coursed through him at the way they averted their gazes from him and shifted uncomfortably, looking ashamed.

It made Jason scowl, it had taken him so long just to get them to talk to him and they even had some fun on their last mission. But as soon as 'Golden boy' walked in they turned their backs on him. It wasn't Jason's fault that they had befriended him; it wasn't fair to take it out on him.

But Jason couldn't help but feel jealous of Dick, seeing how much his friends cared about him. Jason never had anybody like that in his life, and he wished that at some point they would feel that way about him too. Jason took a glance around the room and noticed how apart he was from everyone else, from his physical position and emotional. But he shook his head and brought his attention back to the current situation; he could mope and hope all he wanted later.

Jason tried to wait patiently for everyone to come back to the real world from their thoughts, knowing that Dick's sudden arrival may have been a shock. He didn't know the guy well so wasn't totally concerned and soon he could begin to feel himself get more frustrated the longer the silence continued.

"So," Jason broke the silence, "Are we going to do something or not." He stated, bringing everyone back to the present. And everyone glanced over at him to see his arms folded and a scowl on his face.

Wally stepped forward to the Dark Knight,

"Batman, what did Robin mean when he said you kept something important from him?" Wally questioned, he was eager to find out what Batman had done to make Robin so angry.

The team all looked to Batman, all wanting to hear what he had to say. Batman thought it over in his head; he couldn't' tell them in risk of compromising their identities, but he also knew Dick was in a delicate state and the team would have to know the situation. Batman almost growled out loud.

Finally after weighing his options, he turned his attention to the team.

"What I am going to tell you is strictly confidential. I cannot tell you the details in risk of compromising our identities but I feel that you need to know before the situation worsens. But before I do you have to promise me you will not look into this in detail."

The team looked momentarily shocked, all feeling slightly honoured that Batman was going to trust them with such delicate information.

Batman watched as their faces turned serious at the weight of the information they were about to receive and they all gave him their word. Batman sighed,

"When Robin was younger he watched as Zucco tore his family apart." Batman brought Zucco's picture onto one of the holograms. "With my help, we managed to put this scum behind bars for what he did and Robin began to carry on with his life." He paused once more. "A few days before sending Robin's kidnapping there was word that Zucco had escaped from Arkham. But at the time I was having a few problems with Robin obeying orders and such, so I decided to keep this from him until I was sure he would listen. But then the Joker happened."

"And so this mystery person rescued Robin, then told him the truth and now he's furious." Conner concluded and Batman nodded. Kaldur stepped forward,

"What would you have us do?"

"Stop Robin from doing something he'll regret."

* * *

Dick took off as soon as he was transported back to the phone booth in Gotham. He felt angry, angry and hurt. How could his friends treat him with such suspicion? They did realise what he had been through, what gave them the right to judge him?

Dick continued to race through the city, momentarily enjoying the feeling of flight as he swung across the rooftops. He could almost forget for a moment about his problems, but the moment passed and soon Dick could feel the beginnings of tears prick at the corners of his eyes.

God he was tired, the past events were beginning to catch up on him and take their toll. Dick had learned to keep his emotions in check for the most part, but he knew he was reaching his limit. The tears were proof of that. But Dick shook his head and continued to move and before he realised it, Dick had arrived at the docks.

The area was quiet and Dick slowly walked to the pier. He was silent as he listened to the waves lap against the side of the pier in a gentle rhythm, lulling him into a sense of calm. The whole scene was beautiful, the sunset casted a golden glow over the entire docks and made the ocean sparkle.

Dick sat himself down on the edge of the pier and went over everything in his head. Batman- no, Bruce, openly admitted to his face that he had kept Zucco from him. It seemed like Slade was telling the truth and Dick couldn't help but wonder if he was right about everything else too, probably…

While he was thinking about Bruce Dick's thoughts turned to the new Robin, who was he? Where did Bruce find him? Dick gave himself a hollow chuckle, he knew Bruce didn't trust him but it hurt to see how quickly he had replaced him. It had only been two months, had Bruce really given up on him that quickly? And his friends, they didn't seem to be too worried about his abduction. They had already accepted the other Robin, it hurt.

Everything hurt. Dick could feel his chest tighten; it was getting difficult to breath. How? How could they all do this to him? He didn't deserve it, he hadn't done anything wrong. Dick could feel his body begin to shake and the tears began to flow down his face. He didn't make any effort to try to stop it from happening; he needed to let it out, all of it. The hurt, the pain, the betrayal. The people he thought cared for him threw him to the side and the only one who is making any sense is a cold blooded murderer.

Dick had no idea what he was going to do next, but he knew that he didn't want to see Bruce for a long while. He still couldn't believe that Zucco escaped. Unbridled fury flowed throughout Dick at the thought of that man, and he felt his hands clench into fists.

It was Zucco's fault, if he hadn't of broken out of prison Bruce wouldn't have kept anything from him. This man had caused so much pain throughout Dick's life, tore his family away from him and now this man was roaming around the streets. Dick vowed that he wouldn't allow him to destroy any more families.

He stood from his position on the pier and wiped away the remaining tears from his eyes. He was done with his outburst, no more tears, he was going to find Zucco and stop him before he could ruin anyone's lives. For once in a long time Dick felt finally in control of something, he hardened his expression and took one last look out towards the ocean.

As he took in the scene in front of him a light breeze ruffled his hair.

"Are you here to drag me back?" he called out without turning; there was no point, he already knew who it was.

"Robin please" M'gann half pleaded and Dick slowly turned to face them. The whole team was present, except for one.

"What? You didn't bring my replacement along?" Dick spoke sarcastically, he watched as they all averted their gazes, Dick didn't know if that was worse than if they openly admitted it.

"Robin listen-" Artemis began

"-No you listen!" Dick interrupted, suddenly angry again.

"I have been through hell." He growled. "The Joker is a psychopath. He is ten times worse than your average criminal and his torture methods are even more dangerous. I was stuck playing his _sick _games for three days," Dick trailed off and no one said a word. Dick brought his head up again,

"I waited for you, and you never came." Everyone noticed Dick's body slightly shake and his hand rub his arm subconscious, where Joker had stabbed a poker in.

"And then, I come back and find you with my imposter. What about me?" He glowered at them, Wally stepped forward,

"Robin you don't understand-"

"Save it, I don't want to hear it." Dick stalked forwards trying to get past the group but Aqualad and Superboy moved in front him, blocking his path.

"Move" Dick growled up at the two.

"Robin." Aqualad began, "We understand that you're mad right now but going after Zucco will not help things."

Dick's whole body tensed up and he lowered his gaze,

"Who told you that?" He voice was low, dangerous.

"Batman." Superboy stated, unconcerned at Dick's sudden change.

"I see." Dick continued, "What else did he tell you?"

"Only that he tore your family apart when you were younger, nothing specific." Superboy replied

"And that he had escaped from Arkham before you were taken." Artemis added.

Dick relaxed minutely at the news, they didn't know everything.

"That is none of your business, now _move_." Dick tried again but Aqualad only shook his head,

"No my friend, we are trying to help you."

Dick sighed, "Fine."

And with amazing speed he flipped himself over Superboy and started running. He had to get away from the water and get rid of Aqualad's advantage. He leaped to the side as two arrows soared past him and sent two bird'a'rangs back in return, in which the team dodged.

A flash of yellow and Kid Flash stood in front of him, arms out.

"Dude, don't make us do this." Dick only scowled and stood back in a defensive stance. Kid Flash realised that Dick wasn't going to stop raced at him, arm raised for a punch. But before he could register what happened he was flying into Miss Martian as Dick flipped him over his shoulder.

Dick quickly turned and blocked an oncoming punch from Superboy. He braced himself but didn't go flying into the wall like he thought; Superboy was going easy on him. He continued to dodge and block Superboy's attacks until the Kryptonian slipped up and placed too much weight on his front leg. Dick wasted no time in sweeping the leg from underneath him and Superboy landed with a hard thud.

"Sorry" Dick whispered and quickly shot off to Artemis. He was too close for her to use her bow so instead they began hand to hand combat. She put up a good fight, with no powers both were forced to push their bodies to the absolute limit to keep up with the metas and it was paying off. She had excellent stamina and strength, it was difficult but soon Dick had the upper hand and overpowered Artemis, throwing her to the ground.

Before he could recover Aqualad had gained a massive amount of water in the shape of a dragon and slammed it into Dick, pushing off his feet. He landed close to Aqualad on the floor and with a glance saw Aqualad was stood on the wet floor, Dick quickly charged up his glove and slammed it to the ground, forcing an electric current to pass through Aqualad and sending him to the floor. Dick was insulated by his suit so was unaffected.

Dick quickly got to his feet and began running once again, with the team up and hot on his trail. He attempted to hide but the team were too close for him to disappear completely so instead as Dick turned a corner he threw some bird'a'rangs onto an abandoned building to his left. After he slowed to a stop, and waited. Wally was first to arrive with the rest of the team following close behind, none of them noticed Dick's projectiles on the wall. They stopped a few metres away from Dick and the bombs.

"Robin please, stop this." M'gann said as they got closer, but Dick only shook his head and took a step back.

"Sorry Miss M, but I have to do this." He reached up and pressed a button on his glove before they got too close. Suddenly an explosion ripped through the air as the nearly warehouse wall blew up, catching their attention. Dick threw down a few smoke pellets for good measure and fled the scene before any of them could realise what had happened.

* * *

Once Dick was out of sight he quickly brought out his grappling gun and fired it onto the roof of a nearby building. He swung himself up and began to make his way to crime alley, to start searching for clues. But as he got halfway there a dark shadow began to move and Dick stopped on a large, open rooftop.

"Batman." Dick stated and the Dark Knight moved out of the shadows to stand in front of him, his eye caught a sudden movement to his right and he saw the other Robin move from the shadows as well.

"Robin, stop this and come back to the mountain." Batman stated, Dick let out a laugh,

"Robin? Isn't he supposed to be Robin now?" Dick questioned, his finger pointing in Robin's direction.

"Hey!" Robin shouted at the gesture and took a step forward.

"We'll talk about it when we get back to the mountain." Batman said before Robin could say more, Dick watched as Robin growled and took a step back with a scowl on his face. Dick brought his attention back to Batman,

"I don't want to go back; I'm going to find Zucco." Dick stated. A snort came from his right and Dick spun round to face a smirking Robin.

"What's so funny?" Dick growled. He sent Robin glare but the boy seemed unfazed by it and stood his ground,

"Nothing. It's just that, how do you expect to find Zucco? Batman's searched for ages and he hasn't found him, so what chance do you have in finding him?"

Dick's eyebrow twitched, this Robin was beginning to irritate him. He stalked up close to Robin so that their faces were inches apart,

"What the hell do you know?" he spat. Robin seemed momentarily stunned at Dick's anger but quickly returned the challenge, he puffed out his chest and met Dick's glare with his own. After a moment Robin opened his mouth to speak but was cut off,

"Robin" Batman warned and Robin quickly shut his mouth. Dick held his glare for a couple of moments longer until he turned back to Batman,

"What will you do when you find him?" Batman questioned, a look of confusion passed across Dick's face.

"What do you mean? I'm going to stop him of course."

"But how?" Batman pressed,

"Well I'm-wait what?" Realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. "Did you think-? Did you think that I was-?" Dick couldn't even finish the sentence, it was too horrible.

"God, Bruce!" Not caring that he called him by his real name, "How could you think that I would…would _kill _him!? I've been gone for two months; I haven't turned into a murderer!"

"Dick you are in a very delicate state of mind right now, I need-"

"Batman, you know me! I would never!.." Dick paced around the roof slightly,

"No," He stopped and looked at his mentor in defiance, "Never mind. I don't care what you think; I'm still going to find Zucco."

Batman shook his head, "I can't let you do that Robin."

Dick shook his head, and then ran at him. He attempted to jump over Batman, like he did with Superboy, but Batman had foreseen this and grabbed Dick's leg mid jump and threw him back down in front of him.

Dick rolled out of the fall and quickly got back to his feet; he dodged a punch from Robin and countered with his own. Robin blocked it smoothly and came in with a kick, Dick jumped out of the way of it and came in with a punch to the face, it caught Robin on the cheek and he staggered back a few paces. He sent a glare to Dick before rushing in with another punch, fuelled by anger. Dick calmly side stepped and grabbed hold of his arm, in one motion he twisted and held it behind his back. Robin let out a small cry and Dick kicked him in the back, letting go of his arm as he fell to the ground.

Dick ran again at Batman, who stood to one side and sent a kick to his side. Batman blocked it and swiped Dick's remaining leg out from under him, Dick came crashing down to the ground with a thud onto his belly. Before Dick could retaliate, Batman placed himself on top of him and held him down so that he couldn't move. Dick struggled as Batman reached into his utility belt but couldn't break free, knowing what Batman was going to do.

"Don't!" he cried as Batman plunged the needle into his arm, he continued to struggle for a few moments but felt his muscles grow more and more heavy.

"I'm sorry Dick." Batman whispered,

"No..." Dick mumbled as his eyelids began to close, a tear slipped down his face as he fell into unconsciousness.

**xxxxx**

**What did you think? review and let me know!**

**Right, also I have a question for you all. Do you prefer me to continue to write longer chapters or would you like me to shorten them a bit?**

**I know because I can get carried away a bit when I write and end up posting super long chapters at times, so let me know if you want it shortened. :)**

**Ok, I think thats it so I'll see you all next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi, PhoenixxFlame here!**

**At last! My exams are finally over! Thankyou everyone for bearing with me while I spent all my time revising.**

**Because of the exams I hadn't written much of the story, but now that they're over I have written over 8,000 words for this chapter! I just couldnt stop!**

**So I hope you all enjoy the chapter, sorry if it seems a little rushed I just kept on writing and writing and writing :)**

**Review and let me know!**

**enjoy**

**xxxx**

When Dick woke, the one thing he knew was that he was cold. His body was numb and he found that he was placed on a hard bed in a brightly lit room, and the only other furnishings in the room was a mirror and chair. The head of his bed was resting on the back wall and faced the glass partitioning that separated his room from the corridor. It was then that Dick realised where he was, he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

Batman had placed him in the holding cells.

Dick let out a heavy sigh and leaned back against the cold wall. He didn't move, didn't say anything, didn't think anything, didn't feel anything. His body was completely numb.

He remained that way until he heard the muffled sounds of people walking down the corridor, he turned his head slightly towards the glass so he would be able to see who his visitors out of the corner of his eyes.

The footsteps grew louder and soon his visitors stopped outside of his cell, Dick didn't make any effort to greet them.

"Robin," Kaldur called. Because of the glass partitioning, to Dick, Kaldur's voice had to come through a speaker. It was weird, Kaldur's voice sounded almost artificial as it echoed into the cell and it only managed to make Dick feel even more alone.

He didn't respond to Kaldur's call and continued to stare ahead at the wall.

"Robin, we've come to take you to the interview room. We just want to talk." Kaldur tried again, and once again he got no reply. He glanced at Conner, a look of concern on his face. Conner only shrugged; not because he didn't care, but because he had no idea how to handle the situation. Just before they tried to speak again, Dick slowly rose from his position on the bed and walked over to the glass. He nodded,

"Alright." The two teens looked at their younger teammate. Here he looked just like a fourteen year old boy, not Robin. He looked fragile and closed off, it made them worry.

Kaldur moved and typed in the combination of Dick's cell on the control pad that was placed on the wall next him. Under his command, the glass wall lifted and allowed Dick to exit the room.

"Robin, please try to understand that we only placed you here so that you wouldn't hurt yourself." Kaldur attempted to explain but Dick only ignored him and made his way to where the interview rooms were situated. Conner gave a sympathetic look and moved to follow Dick before he got too far ahead.

Kaldur couldn't move. Everything was going wrong, why did they have to escort their friend and comrade to the interview room like he was some sort of criminal? He could slowly feel the world that they had all created slowly begin to crumble and there was no way they could stop it.

* * *

Conner opened the door to the interview room for Dick and watched as he walked in and sat himself down in the chair facing the one way mirror. It was an average interview room with a desk and chairs placed on either side. A recording tape was placed on the table and cameras covered the corners of the room, watching Dick's every move.

Once Conner was sure Dick was seated, he closed the door and made his way over to the side room where everyone else stood watching their youngest teammate though the glass, that included the entire team and batman and the new Robin. It was silent as they watched Dick stare blankly ahead,

"He looks so…broken." M'gann spoke quietly; no one replied and continued to watch. M'gann was right; Dick was slightly slouched in his chair. His eyes held no emotion; just a blank stare and every now and then Dick would reach up and rub his arm where Batman had stabbed him with a syringe. But the most disturbing thing was that Dick wasn't moving around in him seat, they were all used to him jumping about and practicing his acrobatics. Seeing him so lifeless felt…wrong.

Batman's voice cut through the silence, "I'll allow you ten minutes with Robin. Ask what you want, say what you want. But after, when I go in you will not watch and you will not listen. Do I make myself clear?"

The team nodded and exited the room, leaving Batman and Robin alone in the room.

They entered the interview and got themselves comfortable before beginning to speak, M'gann and Wally took the seats, Kaldur stood next to them and Conner and Artemis leaned on the wall. Dick watched calmly at them as they entered and said nothing, showing no emotion or signs of recognition.

"This is a little unfair, don't you think? All pilling in here at once against me." Dick spoke in a monotone voice.

"Robin we're not here to gang up on you, we're here to talk with you." M'gann spoke and Dick frowned,

"I know Batman's behind the glass." Dick stated coldly, he leaned slightly to the side so that he could see past Wally and look directly at the glass. He gave a wave and smiled as he continued to speak,

"He's watching me as we 'talk' and taking note of everything I say, trying to piece the puzzle together." No one spoke, they were uncertain on how to respond.

"What I want to know is," Dick started talking again, his expression turned blank. "Why?"

"Why the other Robin?" Wally guessed and Dick nodded.

"We didn't want him dude, honest." Wally began.

Back behind the glass, Batman sent a glance at Robin and saw him tense up at the bluntness of Wally's statement. The speedster probably forgot that they were stood behind the glass, watching. And Batman mentally cursed at the boy's thoughtlessness. Wally continued,

"About a week before you came back to the mountain, Batman arrived and said that we would be getting a new teammate. We were all sceptical, knowing about your disappearance. It just didn't seem right."

"Batman first told us you went missing a week after you disappeared." Artemis added, still leaning on the wall.

"If you knew, then why didn't you guys save me?" Dick asked coldly, Artemis pushed herself from the wall and walked to the desk.

"Hey! We tried; the league gave us so many missions it was hard to look for you on our own!" She argued, but Kaldur cut her off,

"That is enough, it doesn't matter now. But for the record Robin, every mission we received we searched for any sign of you. But it was like you disappeared."

Kaldur continued to watch Dick and saw his expression soften slightly. Dick relaxed, Kaldur always managed to calm everyone else down with his calm demeanour.

"Anyway…" Wally began again, a little uncomfortable.

"When Batman brought in Robin, we were furious. We told him that what he had done was wrong, but he ignored us and practically ordered us to get to know him."

M'gann took over, seeing Wally get slightly flustered.

"Batman brought Robin to the mountain every day. No missions, just for us to get to know him better. Robin was…a handful. But he's not a bad guy, Robin. Anyway the day you came back was the first mission we all went on together."

"Batman wouldn't take no for an answer." Wally added.

"You all looked pretty chummy to me." Dick leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

"That's not our fault! What did you expect us to do Robin? Ignore him, that's not exactly fair." Artemis argued.

"I don't think any of this is exactly fair," Dick growled, "You know what? Never mind, I don't care anymore." He sighed and looked away.

"Rob!" Wally looked exasperated, "What happened to you? Why are you so suspicious of us?"

Dick sighed, "A lot of things have happened Wally." He spoke quietly

"Tell us." Conner spoke from his position on the wall. Dick stiffened in his chair,

"Tell you what?" He asked,

"Tell us what happened to you when you were with the Joker."

Dick tensed further in his seat and everyone looked at him expectantly. He shuffled and let out a nervous laugh.

"The Joker's a nutcase, his jokes were cruel and horrible, but he wasn't the one who told me everything."

Dick tried to steer the conversation away from the Joker, trying to sound like he wasn't bothered by it anymore and the team may have believed him, if it wasn't for the pained look in his eyes.

"But what did he do?" Dick slumped in his chair, Conner wasn't going to give it up and the team did nothing to stop him.

"You really want to know?" He asked dully, giving up.

"If it can let us help you Robin, then please." M'gann smiled. Dick let out another empty laugh and shook his head,

"There's not much you can do to help, but I guess it can't hurt to show you." Dick smirked at his joke.

Dick stood and took off his cape and gloves. The team looked on quizzically but said nothing as Dick continued to take off the top half of his uniform. As he lifted off his shirt he heard the team gasp.

Scars completely littered the Boy Wonder's torso, some were small straight scars and others were round ugly scars, some even looked like letters or words. Dick watched the team's horrified expressions as the y continued to stare.

"You wanted to know." He spoke quietly.

"The Joker did…all this?" Wally questioned, breathless.

"Well no. Not all of this, at least not this time round." Dick spoke lightly,

"This has happened before?" Artemis asked, horrified and Dick nodded

"Well what do you expect? I live in _Gotham_, but Batman's always been able to save me before it went too far."

"This isn't too far!?" Wally protested,

"Well, yeah I suppose so." Dick's expression was thoughtful and the team couldn't believe at how calm he was with _this._ Conner was the first to recover,

"So what did Joker do to you?" he asked and Dick tensed up again, obviously still pained by his experience. Then his expression turned to stone,

"This," his voice was neutral and he pointed to some of the short, straight scars all over his body.

"Is from when the Joker decided to throw his steel edged cards into my body as target practice." He paused and traced the scars lightly with his finger. Before anybody else could say anything Dick already moved onto the next set of scars, these ones were less in number. They were small and jagged.

"These are from where he decided to smash me with a crowbar. You can't see it but I broke my arm, two ribs and fractured my collar bone because of that." There was an angry edge to Dick's voice.

"And these," Dick's voice cracked slightly as he pointed to the largest of the scars. They were dotted along his body and were circular in shape, but tendrils of scarred skin crawled through the unmarked skin like roots.

"These are from when Joker stabbed white hot pokers into my flesh." Dick spoke quietly and everyone's eyes widened further.

"Why on earth would he do that to you?" M'gann asked, tears in her eyes.

"He said it was punishment." Dick growled as he lightly ran his fingers over the scars.

"Punishment? For what?" Conner asked

"For trying to escape." Dick paused and the team waited for him to elaborate, he sighed.

"After Joker beat me with the crowbar, he left me alone in the cell. I found that the binds he had placed me in had loosened, so I soon managed to get out of them." Dick rubbed his wrists, "The door was locked so I had to wait for Joker to come back, and when he did I knocked him to the ground and ran outside."

Dick shook his head, "I was so stupid not to notice that something was wrong. To get out I had to climb over the fence around the compound and I quickly raced towards it, but Joker had already planned this." His fists clenched and shook. "He electrified the fence and I only noticed when it was too late. It… it was horrible." Dick paused again when a lump formed in his throat, the team didn't dare to breathe as Dick stood there. Then he turned and started to put on his uniform again as he continued

"After, he walked up to me and mocked me for believing I could escape so I spat in his face. In return he got his henchmen to beat me to a pulp, and then at the end he brought the pokers out."

Dick finished dressing and sat back down in the chair.

"And that's not even the worst of it. All the time I was there, all I could think about was when you all would come and save me, that was the only thing keeping me sane. Then, when you didn't turn up, I snapped. The Joker _broke _me…"

The pain in his voice was unbearable to the rest of the team and they watched as Dick slowly shrunk in on himself.

"Wh-when I finally got back to the mountain, I was relieved and happy when I heard your voices. But when you came in with Robin, I felt like I was snapping again."

Dick sat up straight once more, expression turning to stone again. "I was so angry. You all betrayed me, my family. And then to top it all off, you thought I was going to kill Zucco and treated me like a criminal."

"Robin…"M'gann spoke softly, tears in her eyes, but Dick only shook his head and looked away. She slumped where she was sat, feeling every emotion coming off of him and M'gann could almost feel herself tearing apart too.

Kaldur looked around the room. Everyone had begun to shut themselves off from each other, each lost in their own thoughts. Kaldur realised that there wasn't going to be much more conversation between the group anymore and so he sighed and turned towards the one way glass. He gave a nod in Batman's general direction, knowing that even though he couldn't see him Batman would be watching. Kaldur made his way over to the door and gestured to the rest of the team to follow, he held it open for them as they walked out silently. Just before Kaldur left he spared one last look to Dick, he was staring down at the desk with a frown on his face.

"Robin," Kaldur called, Dick didn't turn to face him but lifted his head in acknowledgment. "I can't say that I know what you're going through, and I know that what we've done is unforgivable. But please understand that we want to help you."

Kaldur paused and waited for a reaction from Dick but got none other than seeing his eyes narrow slightly. He let out another sigh and exited the room, leaving Dick alone with his thoughts.

Kaldur closed the door to the interview and made his way down the corridor where the team and Batman were waiting for him. He nodded to Batman and waited for him to speak.

Batman watched as the team stole glances over to Robin before looking away again, ashamed. He turned his attention to his partner, Robin's face was neutral but Batman could see his jaw tense in frustration.

Batman turned to face the whole team again,

"I want you all to wait by the training pad. Do not attempt to listen in." He ordered and watched as the team nodded silently. Dick's sudden appearance had shocked them, and his actions had hit them hard. None of them knew what to do with themselves and constantly having Robin didn't help the situation, but there wasn't much Batman could do. Robin had the right to be there and chose to be, the team was just going to have to deal with it.

Batman and Robin watched as they walked down the corridor in silence. Batman was silent for a moment before addressing Robin,

"Jason, I want you to go too." Jason looked momentarily shocked,

"What, why?" He questioned,

"Because every time you and Dick meet, Dick becomes agitated. I need to be able to have a civil conversation with him."

Jason frowned at his mentor and turned down the corridor,

"Fine." He grumbled and started walking.

"Jason" Batman called and said boy stopped and turned to face him,

"Sorry. I just really need to talk to Dick alone at the moment." He spoke softly. Although he had only been with Batman for a couple of months, Jason knew how rare it was for him to apologise. So he just nodded dumbly and continued his way down the corridor.

Batman smirked slightly and turned towards the interview room, it was time to talk.

* * *

Dick sat in the empty room listening to the low rumble of voices outside. He was glad to have a moment to himself, the conversation he had had with his team had left him more than a little torn. Dick desperately wanted to believe his friends and forgive them, but he just couldn't stop the feeling of betrayal he felt every time he looked at them. He couldn't ignore their part in all of this, although it may seem small. Slade had said that they had forgotten about him and so far they have done nothing but prove him right. Dick sighed, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. This whole thing was just one big mess.

After a while Dick heard the door handle turn and watched in silence as the Dark Knight walked into the room. Dick managed to keep his face neutral but felt a stab of fear run through him as he watched his mentor walk towards him and settle down into the chair opposite him.

But that fear quickly turned into anger and he sent a glare over to Batman who took no notice. They sat in silence for a while just staring at each other, trying to figure each other out and refusing to look away.

After a while Dick seemed to falter under his gaze and so looked away with a scowl on his face,

"Dick, I need to know. Who was the man you were with?" Batman questioned. His tone was light, but Dick could hear the authority hidden within it. Batman wanted answers, and somehow that made Dick even angrier.

"That's all you want to ask me? After all I've been through your mind is still firmly placed on the investigation." He scowled.

"Dick, I'm trying to help you-"

"-Then how about asking me how I feel!" Dick interrupted. Batman glowered at him for a moment for talking over him, but his expression softened slightly after understanding what Dick had just said. He sat there for a moment and just watched Dick, seeing the pained look in his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" He asked gently, but the question came out awkwardly due to the tension in the room. Dick shook his head,

"I don't know." He stated and Batman frowned at the answer, slightly confused to why Dick asked him to ask in the first place if he didn't know. "I can't get my head around the fact that you thought I was going to kill Zucco." Dick glared.

Batman felt a small moment of guilt wash through him at his actions, but he felt they were justified.

"You had just been through a very traumatic experience and were in a very delicate state of mind at that point." Batman reasoned.

"Jesus, Bruce!" Dick leaned forward onto the desk, "You know me! I would have never have killed him, even when I first went after him I had no intention of killing him. I just wanted to bring him to justice."

Batman shook his head, "I couldn't take that chance."

"So you drugged me and placed me in the holding cell!" Dick exclaimed.

"It was a precaution, to make sure you didn't hurt yourself." His voice was neutral as he spoke. Dick scoffed,

"Yeah right, it was to make sure I didn't try to escape and go after him again."

Batman remained silent and Dick gave a sad, empty smile.

"I knew it." There was a pause, "Why did you keep Zucco from me?" He asked quietly. Batman watched to see Dick stare intently at him, wanting to hear the answer. Batman considered his options, there was no point in lying to the boy as he would know if he was lying. The only real option was to tell the truth, now that they were alone.

"I had got word just before we went on patrol on the night where Scarecrow was at City Hall. It was your first night back from your leg injury and I didn't want you to strain yourself, so I had decided to wait until the next day. That night you had shown that you weren't going to follow my direct orders, so I was going to wait until we had sorted that out." He paused and watched Dick shuffle slightly in his seat.

"When you told me that someone was watching you, I wasn't going to take any risks and sent you to the mountain. After, you disobeyed another order and left me no choice but to ban you from being Robin."

Dick was about to protest but Batman held up his hand to silence him.

"Let me finish. I was not going to tell you then when you were angry, so decided to wait until you came back to the Manor. But then you were taken by Joker." Batman finished.

Dick took in the information and thought it through. He made some sense, but Dick still thought it was wrong. He felt the anger begin to rise up.

"But this wasn't like any other villain, this was _Zucco._ The man who murdered my parents, you had no right to keep it from me." Dick voice grew slightly louder in anger,

"No-" Batman began,

"-Bruce! Stop thinking in Batman mode for one second and as Bruce." Dick glared at him and Batman just watched as he continued,

"You lost your parents, just like me. If I had kept something like that from you, you would have been angry and horrified that I would do that to you... so how could you even think to…I thought that we were the same! I thought that at least _you_ would understand."

Dick argued, his throat tightening slightly as the tears began to threaten to fall. Batman remained silent and watched as Dick slowly lent back in his chair,

"You had no right." Dick ended quietly and looked away. Batman waited as Dick tried to get a hold of his emotions once more and soon, Dick had the passive, cold look on his face once again.

"Where did you find him?" Dick asked suddenly,

"I take it you mean Robin?" Batman guessed and Dick nodded. He sighed,

"His name is Jason Todd and he's one year younger than you. I found him in crime alley, he had…" Batman paused and Dick looked to him, waiting for him to continue. "He had stolen the wheels off of the Bat Mobile."

Dick snorted in amusement and Batman allowed himself a smirk,

"Really?" Dick questioned and shook his head, "What an idiot."

Batman nodded, "I was amazed," His smirk fell. "I later found that he was an orphan and was living on the streets alone, he had learned a lot from being on the streets and was able to defend himself. He ended up helping me take down a minor criminal organisation and so I thought it was best he stay with us. Give him a home, away from the streets."

"And so you decided that he could replace me and gave him my title." Dick stated coldly.

"It wasn't like that, people were starting to get suspicious seeing both Dick Grayson and Robin had left."

"What did you say Dick Grayson was doing?" he questioned,

"That you were studying abroad in England."

"Right. And in the meantime you went around Gotham with your knew partner." Dick stated.

"I never stopped looking for you." Batman half shouted, angry at how Dick thought that he had given up on him.

"Then where were you!?" Dick shouted, his voice raw with emotion. Batman was momentarily shocked at the outburst and opened his mouth to speak but no words left, he couldn't think of a suitable answer in response so the question remained hanging in the air of the small room.

Dick continued to stare intently at Bruce as he tried to come up with an answer, he wanted him to say anything. An excuse, an apology, anything. To Dick, the silence was worse than anything Batman could say, it hurt him more than any words could, cut deeper than any blade.

Dick looked away, the pain clearly shown on his face.

"Dick," Batman asked quietly but Dick didn't acknowledge him. "Where were you after you escaped Joker?" he continued, getting down to business. He watched as Dick slightly stiffened at the question and saw his brow furrow as he contemplated,

"Safe." Was his answer and Batman's eyes narrowed.

"Where?"

"Does it matter?" Dick said

"Dick, why are you trying to avoid the question, why are you defending this man? Just tell me." Batman growled and he watched as Dick met his gaze, shrugging.

"I don't know, I guess that I feel like I owe it to him. After all, he did save me from Joker." Batman internally flinched, once again reminding him on how he failed Dick.

"This man is dangerous; I need you to tell me who he is." Batman pushed. Dick studied Batman for a moment, face impassive. Then he let out a small sigh,

"His name is Slade." Batman straightened slightly,

"And?"

"He's a mercenary, wears black and orange, one eye. That's all I know." Dick looked slightly defeated, and he felt that he was betraying Slade slightly. All Slade had done was save him from Joker and helped get him back up, he hadn't lied to him at all. But Bruce was his mentor.

"Can you go?" He asked quietly, Dick had had enough interrogation for one day.

Batman nodded and silently walked over to the door.

"I'm sorry." He said without facing Dick and left the room.

* * *

Batman walked down the corridor in a confident stride, but inside he was less than so. That interview with Dick had left him shaken. The way that Dick had looked at him, the anger and pain, was a constant reminder on how he failed to save him.

He took a deep breath and entered the main hall. He cursed as he saw a flash of red and blue talking with the members of Young Justice, this was the last thing he needed right now. He watched as the man of steel turned to him as he entered the cave and quietly excused himself from the group. They looked over to Batman as Superman walked over but made no attempt to follow, knowing that this was a private conversation. Batman could see by their expressions that they were all shocked by their talk with Dick.

Superman gave a soft smile as he walked up to the Dark Knight.

"What are you doing here?" Batman questioned, a scowl on his face. Superman took no notice,

"I heard Dick was back, but from the sounds of it," He cast glance to the young heroes, "It hasn't turned out well."

"No, it hasn't."

He gave a concerned look and Batman gestured him to follow out into the corridor, where they could talk without Superboy overhearing.

"Care to explain?" Batman sighed and turned his gaze to a spot on the wall,

"It turns out that the man who took Dick told him about Zucco."

"Oh."

"Yes oh. Dick also saw the team walk in with Jason after their mission."

Superman was silent. He knew this wasn't good, and he wasn't surprised that they were having problems with Dick now. Batman continued,

"From what I can make out, the man had filled Dick's head with doubts about my commitment to him, saying that I didn't care. The same with the team. So when Dick came back and saw all…_this_" Batman gestured, "He exploded, and reinforced what that man had told him. I had to subdue him in fear that he was going to kill Zucco."

"Did Dick tell you who the man was?" Superman pressed.

"Reluctantly. He said the man's name was Slade and he was a mercenary. I need to head back to the cave and run some enquiries, but nothing comes to mind."

"I'll keep my eyes open too; I'll let you know if I find anything."

Batman nodded, "I appreciate it." He paused, "Clark, I just don't know."

Superman turned to look at Batman, a quizzical look on his face.

"When I asked him about Slade he refused to answer at first. He was _defending _the man; I could see how reluctant Dick was to answer, how upset he looked after he told me. And I feel that, if Slade came here again, Dick would walk off with him."

Hearing Batman openly show weakness in front of him slightly unnerved Superman. The last couple of months had obviously taken its toll out on him, and once again he was shouldering all of the blame.

"I'm sure that's not true. You just need to give him time."

Batman nodded but said nothing. He started to make his way down the corridor back to the main hall where the team was waiting. He looked over his shoulder towards Superman as he walked,

"I'm going to head back to the cave and make searches on the Slade. I just need to inform the team."

Superman nodded,

"Alright. I'll head to the Watchtower; see if I can dig anything up there."

"Thank you."

Superman placed a comforting hand on Batman's shoulder and walked over to the zeta tubes, teleporting to the Watchtower. The team turned to Batman once Superman had left,

"I need to head back to the cave with Robin. I am trusting you to watch Robin, he is currently still in the interview room but I want you to escort him back to the cell."

The team looked shocked,

"What?!" Wally cried,

"Batman, surely Robin does not need to go back to the cell?" Kaldur questioned.

"No, I want to keep him under constant surveillance." Batman replied, his tone firm. He didn't want to express his fears with the team, but he felt that this was needed. At least until he was certain that Dick wouldn't attempt to escape.

"That's not fair!" Conner argued.

"I do not care what you think is fair. Do not disobey my orders." Batman's tone turned dangerous, leaving no room for argument and the team immediately shut up.

"Now, where is Robin?"

* * *

Jason made his way down the corridor towards the interview room. He was fed up with being left out, he wanted to speak with Dick too. So he managed to slip away from the team as soon as they entered on the training pad, not that they would be too concerned with his disappearance.

He hid in one of the interview rooms while Bruce had his talk with Dick. He waited until the door opened and Batman left the room, but he didn't leave until he was certain the Batman had left the corridor before making his move.

Quietly Jason made his way to the interview room and walked inside, He found Dick with his head in his hands leaning on the desk. His head shot up as he heard Jason enter and an irritated look made its way onto his face, but Jason took no notice and sat in the chair opposite.

A glaring contest consequently began. The two Robin's just sat in silence and glared, both too stubborn to look away. They were both silently trying to find where they stood with each other, both trying to be top dog. It lasted a while until Dick sighed and shook his head, way too tired to completely care.

"Look I really don't have the patience to deal with you right now, so can you just-"

"Oh cut the crap." Jason interrupted. Dick's jaw fell open, his eyes widened slightly,

"I'm sorry?" He questioned,

"You heard me, quit acting so angry and depressed all the time." Jason complained, glaring at Dick. Dick was silent for a moment, taking in what he just said,

"What do you know?" He argued, his temper growing rapidly every second. Jason shrugged,

"Same as everyone else, which isn't much because of your grumpy ass attitude. Quit acting all emo and just tell Bruce what you know."

Anger coursed through Dick. Who the hell did this guy think he was to criticise him? He had barely been here for two month and already he felt like he could just do and say what he wanted. But Dick forced himself to calm down; he was tired and just about ready to snap, but he knew he shouldn't take it out on Jason.

"Look." Dick spoke, his voice was calm and level but inside he was feeling anything but. "I am having a really tough time at the moment and I don't need you to-"

"Oh boo hoo! So you've had some difficult months, who cares? We all have our own problems, no need to take it out on us."

Jason's voice was patronising and Dick exploded. He jumped up from his chair and slammed his hands on the desk, glaring at Jason, his chair falling on the floor behind him.

"Who the _hell _do you think you are?! You think you can just waltz in here wearing _my _uniform and tell me what to do! You know nothing!" Dick spat.

Jason stood from his chair,

"I know more than you think! When you were gone Batman stopped at nothing to find you and what did you do? Threw it right back in his face." He shouted. "You don't know what it was like working with him. He was so cold, he barely ate, barely slept. It took Alfred and me this long to get him to leave the cave!"

Jason began to pace the room,

"And the team! They wanted nothing to do with me; I had to work so hard to get them to just acknowledge me. I felt their constant stares and I caught all the glances. The day you saw me with them was the first time they accepted me and treat me like one of them, and now you're back and everything is even worse than before!"

"Oh, so this is my fault!"

"Yes!" Jason argued,

"Well sorry to ruin your fun!" Dick replied sarcastically. There was a moment of silence as they glared at each other, then all of a sudden the door opened to reveal Wally and Kaldur. Dick and Jason were so angry they didn't hear anyone approaching.

Wally looked between the two Robin's and then to the fallen chairs,

"Dude we heard arguing, are you alright?"

Dick stood up straight and took in a deep breath,

"Fine." He grunted. Kaldur looked to Dick,

"Robin we have been asked to escort you back to the cell." Dick scowled but nodded, Wally turned his attention to Jason,

"And uh…Robin? Batman's looking for you, he wants to head back to the cave." Jason nodded and left the room without looking at Dick, but he could feel his glare on his back the entire way out.

Once Jason was out of earshot Wally spoke again,

"Dude, are you sure you're alright? You look pretty angry."

"I said I'm fine, let's go." Dick spoke through gritted teeth and the trio left the room in silence.

There was no conversation on the way back to the cell, Dick was too worked up to be bothered and he just wanted to be left alone. Just before they reached Dick's cell he heard the overhead voice announce the departure of Batman and Robin and Dick felt himself relax slightly. Soon they were back at the cell.

"I am sorry." Kaldur started once Dick was sat on his bed. "We tried to persuade Batman to let you out of the cell, but he refused. If there is anything you need…"

Dick merely nodded and both Wally and Kaldur shared a look,

"Alright then, call if you need anything." Kaldur spoke one last time before the duo left Dick alone.

Dick only relaxed once the sound of footsteps silenced and he let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Too much had happened today, too many accusations and confessions; Dick didn't really know what to do.

He felt that Bruce had given a good argument about Zucco, but it didn't change the fact that he had kept something that was so important from him. Hi friends had said that they didn't want Jason, but they still ended up accepting him, even if it was only for a short while while Dick was missing.

Dick laid down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't really know what to think about Jason, he infuriated him. He walks in and acts like he was better than Dick, not afraid to tell him what he thought and ready to start a fight, it made Dick flush in anger. But Dick wasn't just angry Jason, seeing him wearing the Robin uniform made him furious at everyone, it was a constant reminder of their betrayal.

Dick remained staring at the ceiling for ages, just thinking everything over. At the moment coming back to the mountain seemed to be the worse decision he had made throughout all of this, everything was just one big mess. He sighed and turned onto his side, falling asleep.

* * *

_The room was dark once Dick opened his eyes, none of the lights in his cell were on and neither were the lights outside, there must have been a power outage. As Dick got up he saw that his cell was opened and he walked out, confused._

_He made his way throughout the cave, searching for the team but he couldn't find anyone. It was like they had all disappeared. Dick walked into the main hall and made his way to the centre of the training pad. He was going to see if the hologram computer still worked, hoping that it would give him some sort of clue to what was going on._

_As he raised his hand to turn the computer on, a spotlight cast its light directly down onto Dick, leaving him unable to see anything around him. Quietly, Dick could hear the beginnings of a clap coming from behind him and he quickly turned to see where it came from. His vision was still complete darkness as he looked out of the spotlights glare, but the sound of clapping intensified until it sounded like applause and cries and cheers could be heard from the darkness. A voice then boomed over the noise,_

"_Ladies and gentlemen! I give you, the Flying Grayson's!" _

_The whole space around Dick lit up and he found that he was standing in a circus centre ring. Equipment was dotted all around for the different acts and rows of seats circled the ring, they were all empty but the applause could be heard from all around._

_Another spotlight lit up onto the platform high above him, highlighting his parents waving at the invisible crowds. Dick felt a knot form in his stomach form watching them with smiles on their faces, happily waving on the small platform with their arms around each other. This was the last time Dick saw them smiling._

_While Dick was watching his parents, a flash caught his eye and he dropped his gaze to ground level. He saw Zucco loosening the wires holding the trapeze in place. A look of horror flashed across Dick's face,_

"_No!" he screamed and raced forward, to stop Zucco. But a rough hand grabbed his arm and forced him to a stop, Dick snapped his head around and saw it was Batman with a scowl on his face._

"_What are you doing!?" Dick screamed at him, "Let me go! I have to stop Zucco!" Dick cast a glance at his parents; they were getting ready to leap off the platform. His eyes widened and Dick struggled harder in Batman's grip. Batman only shook his head,_

"_No Dick, we can't trust that you're not going to kill Zucco."_

"_What? No I have to stop him, my parents!" Dick got a lucky punch in Batman's face and he loosened his grip enough to break free. Dick raced towards Zucco once more but was tackled to the ground,_

"_Stop Robin." Dick felt his arm go into a lock and he couldn't move. Straining his neck he turned and saw Wally calmly staring at him while holding him in place, Batman and the rest of the team behind him._

"_Let me up!" Dick cried, but he was unable to get out of Wally's hold. The whole place went quiet and Dick turned to look at Zucco, he was sneering at Dick letting him know he was too late. _

_Dick shot his gaze up to his parents, they jumped gracefully from the platform and swung across on the trapeze. Snap! Suddenly the Grayson's were no longer flying but falling straight down to earth; a look of fear could be seen on his mother's face, _

"_NO!" Dick cried as he watched them hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Suddenly the pressure on his arm lifted and Dick shot past the still sneering Zucco and straight to his fallen parents, letting out a cry of pain as he saw their broken bodies. He collapsed onto his knees and cried, not bothering to smother his cries._

_A loud shot echoed throughout the space and sudden pain blossomed through Dick's chest. He looked down in shock and saw blood seeping through his clothes, turning he saw Zucco standing a couple of metres behind him with a gun in his hand, slightly smoking from the shot. He smirked,_

"_Bout time you joined your dead parents." He stated. Dick stumbled over to him, just as he reached out to grab him Zucco vanished and Batman and the team became visible a few feet in front of him. Dick stumbled over,_

"_Help" He cried out to them, clutching his chest. They ignored him and continued to talk amongst themselves. Dick tried again with a laboured breath,_

"_h-help, please." Once again they all continued to ignore him and Dick collapsed onto his knees in pain. His breaths becoming shallower,_

"_Help!" Dick shouted louder and waited for a response. Slowly everyone turned their head in his direction and Dick forced himself back onto his feet,_

"_Thank God," he cried, "I thought you'd forgotten-"_

_Dick cut off short as Jason walked past him towards the group. They all smiled and beckoned him over, eager to include him in their conversation. _

"_Help" Dick tried again but with less force as he collapsed again onto the ground in pain. He watched helplessly as the group started to walk away from him and disappear into the darkness, leaving Dick all alone. He felt his head drop to the floor as the blood poured from his wound and he fell unconscious, alone in the dark._

* * *

Dick took a sharp intake of breath as he bolted upright on his rock hard bed; he was covered in sweat and shaking. He looked around the room and found himself back in his cell.

"It was just a dream." He said with a shaky breath, staring down at his hands. He took deep breaths to try to calm himself and repeated the words to himself, it was just a dream, but it felt so real.

"My, Robin." A cool voice spoke from outside his cell. Dick head shot up at the sound of his visitor and his gaze fixed onto Slade.

"How did you get in here?" Dick questioned, still slightly shaken. There was no anger in his voice and Dick could feel his body relax slightly at Slade's presence, finding it oddly comforting that Slade was there.

"Robin, I would be considered the best if I couldn't get in here."

Dick snorted, "Fair enough."

"Comfortable?" Slade asked pleasantly.

"What do you think?"

Slade only chuckled and a small moment of silence passed between the two.

"You were right." Dick spoke bitterly, his mind going over the recent events.

"Hmm?" Slade faked innocence, "About what?"

"Everything." Dick focused his attention at glaring at the wall, "Batman admitted to keeping Zucco from me and has already replaced me, and so has the Team."

"I did warn you." Slade stated and Dick grew angry. He shot his head back round to Slade,

"Why are you here?" Dick growled "Don't tell me you came all the way here just to say I told you so."

Slade ignored the anger in Dick's voice,

"No. I came here to place my offer once again."

Dick remained silent,

"Become my apprentice." Slade concluded and he watched as Dick's brow furrowed.

"And why would I do that?" Dick questioned. Slade smiled underneath his mask,

"Well for starters I can get you out of this cell."

Dick nodded, "Tempting."

"I can also teach you so that you can take down Zucco. Batman isn't going to let you anywhere near him if you stay here. I can give you the chance to take him down."

"What about Batman and the Team?" Dick questioned but Slade shrugged,

"I can make you more powerful than any of them."

Dick was silent as he contemplated the offer,

"What do you want in return? You obviously aren't going to do this without anything to gain." Dick stated,

"As my apprentice you'll be expected to carry out any mission I give you and I expect you to follow my orders."

"Nothing else?"

"No."

There was another moment of silence, this one much longer than before. Slade could see Dick through the glass weigh everything he said. Finally Dick sighed and walked over to the glass,

"Fine, I'll become your apprentice."

"Good, I'm glad you see things my way." Slade nodded and punched in the code to release Dick from his cell. Dick exited and turned to face his new mentor,

"But on one condition."

"And what would that be?" Slade questioned and Dick looked him in the eye with a steely expression,

"I will not kill." He half glared and Slade smirked from underneath his mask,

"We'll see."

* * *

The team sat once again on the green sofas and contemplated their talk with Dick. Batman and Robin had left the mountain a couple of hours ago and they were left to watch Dick, but they were all hit pretty hard from the experience.

"I had no idea how bad the Joker was." M'gann spoke softly, still shocked at how many scars Dick had had from his kidnapping. Not to mention the ones he gained before the incident.

"I know," Artemis replied, "Seeing all of his…" she couldn't continue as she saw the scars in her mind.

"He's a madman; I don't know how Robin can stand to work in Gotham with crazies like him. It's so dangerous." Wally added.

"It makes it harder to know that Robin is so young." Kaldur spoke, obviously pained to see how such a bright and happy teen could be brutally tortured.

There was silence among the group. They all kept delving into their own thoughts, after a while M'gann spoke,

"Were we wrong to accept Robin?" She asked and there was a moment of silence before Kaldur shook his head,

"No." He paused, considering his words carefully. "Just like I believe that he should not be blamed for this. Robin just needs time to accept this; although I believe he has the right to be angry, I do not think what we have done is wrong."

M'gann looked comforted at Kaldur's answer and she gave a soft smile, leaning into Conner's shoulder. There was another long pause and Kaldur could tell that they were not yet ready to talk about it, everything had happened too soon. Just as he was about to suggest that they get something to eat, a loud explosion echoed around the cave.

The Team quickly jumped up from their seats and gave each other alarmed looks.

"It sounds like it came from the main hall." Conner stated. The team looked to Kaldur who nodded and they ran to the source of the explosion.

When they arrived the room was covered in dust and they couldn't help but cough as they inhaled. The first thing they had noticed was the huge newly created hole on the far side of the hall, the Team stood back in a defensive stance and waited to see who would appear.

Two shadows soon emerged from the smoke standing right next to the hole. The taller shadow came into view first, and they could pick out the orange and the black of his mask as he cast them an uninterested glance. The smaller shadow remained obscured for longer as the smoke curled around him, not giving away his identity. A gust of wind from outside the exploded side of the wall cleared all of the dust in the room and the team got a full view of the smaller figure.

They were all shocked as a pair of eyes watched them without a hint of emotion. Dick stared dully at them, taking in their expressions as they realised it was him. But other than that, he did not speak.

"Robin?" Wally questioned, "What's going on? Who is that guy?" he took a step forward. The taller man's voice stopped him in his tracks,

"Robin, we do not have time for this. Say your goodbyes." Slade said and turned to exit,

"It's fine. I have nothing to say to them." Dick's voice was cold and left the team confused. He turned and so his back was facing the team,

"Robin?" Wally tried again, "Robin stop!" and he ran towards him. Dick spun and glared at them all before throwing down a smoke pellet, once again filling the room with smoke. Wally was forced to stop in his tracks as he couldn't breathe once he entered the smoke. The team waited anxiously for the smoke to dissipate and once it did they found themselves left alone in the room.

Dick was gone.

**xxxx**

**Well? what did you all think?**

**review and let me know!**

**thankyou again for beaing with me through the exams and I will see you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi, PhoenixxFlame here!**

**Sorry I forgot to add this before I uploaded another chapter!**

**Sorry it took so long for me to update, you know how they say you can relax after the exams are over, yeah well that didnt happen for me. i had a ton of school work as soon as it was over and so i couldn't do the chapter for a while.**

**Well here it is so I hope you enjoy**

xxxxx

The mood was tense and awkward as Bruce and Jason entered the Batcave from their visit with Dick. Bruce wanted nothing more than to add Dick's description of Slade to the computer and run more searches, he had a hunch at the identity of the man but he didn't want to come to take any action until he was certain.

But Bruce forced himself to stop, knew he had to talk to Jason. He hadn't spoken a word since they had walked in and stormed over to the changing rooms to get out of his uniform. Bruce sighed and walked over to him, knowing how hard this whole situation had been on his partner, he'd seen the way everyone was treating him.

Bruce waited for Jason to throw on a T-shirt and then gently placed a hand on the boy's shoulder,

"You ok chum?" He asked softly. Jason grunted,

"I'm fine." Bruce frowned slightly; he knew that Jason was anything but fine.

"You know that none of this is your fault?"

"Yeah, I know!" Jason snapped, glaring up at Bruce. He immediately regretted it and quickly lowered his gaze to the floor,

"Sorry." Bruce's eyes softened, "It's just…difficult. I want to help but… well; no one seems to want me to. The way they look at me…It's not my fault this happened!" Jason shouted.

Bruce just let Jason get it out of his system. It was like he said; Jason had nothing to do with this…mess. He came in wanting to help people, and instead he had to deal with everyone else's mistakes, it wasn't fair on the boy. Bruce placed an arm around Jason's slightly shaking shoulders,

"I know." He spoke gently, "Give them time, they'll come round eventually. You just need to stay strong until then."

Jason nodded, glad that he had gotten it off of his chest, even if it was only temporary. Jason was still for a moment while he enjoyed the comforting arm around him, it wasn't much but it helped calm him down.

Jason slowly shrugged off Bruce's arm and silently turned to make his way to the manor. As he walked up to the steps he met Alfred who was on his way down to meet the duo.

"Hey Alfred." Jason greeted dully as he passed, not stopping to wait for a reply.

"Good evening Master Jason." Alfred said and turned his head to watch Jason walk up the stairs. Once Jason disappeared from his line of sight, Alfred sent a questioning look towards Bruce.

"Anything I should be aware of, Master Bruce?" He asked as Bruce made his way to the computer chair and sat down, not bothering to change out of his uniform. Bruce sighed,

"The Team's giving Jason a hard time."

"Is this because of Master Dick's return?"

Bruce nodded, "Yeah, they all felt like Jason was partially responsible for Dick's anger when he saw them all together."

"Yes, you told me as much when you contacted me earlier." Alfred stated sadly. He was ecstatic Bruce first contacted him, but the uneasy tone in his voice immediately brought Alfred out of his moment and his concern grew for Dick. He made Bruce explain everything that had happened leading up to Dick's sedation.

"How is Master Jason holding up?" Alfred asked,

"He's coping but I can tell he's pretty upset about it, even if he tries not to show it."

Alfred nodded, "And Master Dick?"

"Still angry." Bruce replied sadly, he sounded tired; the last couple of days had begun to take its toll on him. Alfred placed a hand on his shoulder,

"He'll pull through, in time and so will you. The boy needs a father, just be there for him when he wants to talk. Everything will turn out ok." Bruce nodded, appreciating Alfred's comforting hand on his shoulder. Just enough to tell him that he wasn't going through this alone.

"Now, I'm going to head upstairs and see if there is anything I can do for Master Jason, you should head up too." Alfred stated.

Bruce shook his head, "Not yet. Dick gave me more info on the man who took him. I'm going to run a few more searches."

Alfred's expression told Bruce that he wasn't happy with his decision, but Alfred kept his objection quiet and nodded, making his way back upstairs,

"Very well sir, don't be too long."

Bruce waited until Alfred left the cave before turning his attention to the computer. He quickly brought up all of the data he had on Slade and added in the information that Dick had given him. Bruce pressed enter and leaned back in his chair as the computer ran its search, the added physical description that Dick had given Bruce was pretty useful and would help narrow down the suspects.

As he waited, Bruce went over the possibilities for what may be the hundredth time. There were many people who hated Batman, but there were none who would go to such lengths to turn Dick against him. It would take months, maybe years of planning; nothing that Gotham's usual villains have time or patience for.

So that meant that it was someone else, someone else who wanted Dick. Someone else had dared to try and take Dick away from him and so far, they were succeeding. It panicked Bruce, to see even the slightest hesitation from Dick, but it also pushed Bruce more to find who this man was.

Bruce rubbed his eyes; he was tired and eager to get this over and done with. Soon a window opened and Bruce quickly leaned forwards on his chair, the computer found a match. Bruce took a moment to prepare himself and went to open the page. Clicking on the link, the computer quickly loaded up a criminal portfolio and Bruce found himself staring into a lone cold, grey eye. Deathstroke the Terminator.

Bruce clenched his hands into fists until they were white, Deathstroke the Terminator took his son? He couldn't believe it, since when was he interested in Batman and Robin's affairs? It didn't make any sense, there was nothing in recent years that would make Deathstroke want to lash out at the Dynamic Duo. But Bruce was going to find out why.

Wasting no time, he quickly brought up all the information he had on Deathstroke and began to read through. Just because the computer brought him up as a match, doesn't mean that Deathstroke was one hundred per cent involved with Dick's kidnapping so Bruce had to be extra sure before doing anything reckless.

Just as Bruce read the first paragraph to the mercenary's bio, bright red warning signs lit up on the Batcave's computer, stopping him in his tracks. Bruce sat there for a moment, not sure what was happening. His brain quickly caught up and he rose from his chair pulling on his cowl, forgetting momentarily about Deathstroke. There was no time to get Jason, Bruce had to move. Mount Justice was under attack.

* * *

Batman raced into the mountain and quickly concluded that he was the first League member to arrive. The whole room was covered in a thick layer of dust and debris littered the floor. The giant hole in the side of the mountain caught Batman's attention and he made his way over, surveying the damage. This seemed to be the only damage done within mountain, the dust and debris coming from the explosion.

Batman turned and saw the Young Heroes resting against the wall on the other side of the room. From his position Batman couldn't see any external injuries to any of the members, but he could tell from their vacant expressions that whatever happened had definitely shaken them. He walked over, but none of them acknowledged him in any way, which was unusual considering he was Batman.

"What happened?" Batman questioned. Pained expressions flittered across all of their faces, but none of them answered the Dark Knight.

"Well?" He growled.

"It's…Robin." M'gann said from her sitting position on the floor,

"What about Robin? Is he alright?"

M'gann didn't reply, she only brought her legs up to her chest and rested her head on her knees. Batman growled again, quickly losing his patience.

"Do not make me ask again."

Conner pushed himself from the wall,

"He's gone." Batman's eyes narrowed,

"Explain."

Conner shrugged."He just took off. Blew a hole in the side of the mountain and left with some man." Conner explained, a little angry. Batman looked at Conner sharply; he had a bad feeling about this.

"Do you have any idea who this man was?" Conner shook his head.

"I've seen him before." Everyone turned their attention to Wally. He was looking down at the floor, still not quite believing what had happened. His voice was quiet,

"When we were on the mission at the military base. I was out for most of it but when I came too, the man said that he expected an answer from Robin and left, I don't know what it was about."

Batman nodded in confirmation,

"You should have seen him." Wally continued, "The way he looked at us, so cold, so…_resentful_." He trailed off and everyone else looked away. Batman glanced around at the team.

"Alright." He spoke calmly. "I want you all to head home and get some rest; it's been a hard few days."

They all nodded and rose,

"What of Robin?" Kaldur asked,

"I will find him."

"And what if he doesn't want to be found?" Artemis asked a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"I _will_ find him." Batman stated firmly, Artemis shrugged and walked on. The rest of the team followed after her, each silently thinking the same thing. Kaldur paused and let the rest of the team continue on their way, wanting to have a word with Batman in private.

"I appreciate that you probably feel that Robin is your responsibility," Kaldur spoke calmly as he watched the rest of his team walk off. "But I do not believe that it is right to keep us apart from this any longer. Robin is our teammate and friend, and we want to do anything we can to help get him back."

Kaldur looked at Batman expectantly, waiting for him to shoot him down and say no. But to his surprise Batman nodded,

"Understood. It's not right to keep you from this any longer." Batman didn't delve anymore to the conversation and stood silent. Kaldur took it as a sign to leave and nodded,

"Thank you." He concluded and followed after his team.

Batman turned and brought up the holographic computer on the training pad. He wasted no time in bringing up the mountains surveillance cameras and bringing up the main halls footage. Fast forwarding Batman stopped once he reached the explosion and played it at real time speed.

He watched as the explosion caused dust to fill the entire cave and obscured the cameras vision, allowing Batman to only catch glimpses of the cave at random times. Batman continued to watch as Young Justice ran into the room, quickly going into defensive stances when they couldn't see what was going on.

Batman watched as two shadows caught his and the Teams' attention from within the dust cloud. Batman zoomed in on them, from his point of view Dick came into sight first. He was staring at his teammates, while they watched on in suspicion. There was no emotion, he just stared. The blank look made Batman wanted to know what he was thinking, what made him decide to leave, at what point did he give up on them all?

Batman continued the footage and waited for the dust to clear around the second figure, silently hoping that it wasn't Deathstroke that came up onto the screen in front of him. It would be a major problem if the most notorious mercenary left with Dick, if Deathstroke didn't want to be found then he couldn't be found.

Suddenly there was a flash as the dust momentarily cleared to make the figure visible, too quick to be able to take in any detail. Batman rewound the tape and slowed it down, watching it frame by frame. A little more, a little more, there.

Batman paused the tape and zoomed in on the figure, only his face was visible. What Batman saw made his blood boil. A black and orange mask was visible and a cold grey eye stared up at the camera, glinting with amusement. There was no doubt about it, this was Deathstroke and he looked up at the camera in triumph. He knew that Batman would look to the security footage and he _mocked_ Batman. How he could take Dick right from under Batman's nose, openly defying Batman and taking what was most important to him. It filled Batman with unbridled fury.

He let out an angry yell and attempted to slam his fist down onto the holographic keyboard in frustration, but his fist fell through the holographic keyboard and it disappeared,

"That Bastard!"

He shut down the holographic computer and stormed over to the zeta tubes.

"Superman." He growled into his communicator,

"Batman? What's wrong?" Superman replied,

"It's him, that bastard Deathstroke took my son!" Batman spat,

"Deathstroke the Terminator?!" A shocked voice spoke on the other end.

"Yes." Batman gritted out.

"Well, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find him, and make him pay for taking my son."

* * *

The journey back to Slade's mansion was pretty quiet, Dick was still caught up in his own thoughts and Slade was not in any rush to initiate a conversation. He was just glad everything was going according to plan. The gentle rocking of the car made Dick feel drowsy and soon he found it difficult to keep awake as Slade drove.

He rested his head on the window, and enjoyed the cool feel of it against his head and Dick found himself drifting off. As the car came to a stop, Dick quickly woke himself up and got out of the car, following Slade as he walked through the door. They entered the mansion quietly and were greeted by Wintergreen. On seeing the man it somehow brought Dick out of his thoughts, he smiled tiredly,

"Hey Wintergreen."

He watched as Wintergreen turned to face him,

"Robin, it's good to have you back." He said in his strict, professional tone. Dick grimaced,

"Please don't call me Robin." He couldn't stand that name any longer; it was just an unwanted reminder to what he had left behind. Wintergreen cast a quick look to Slade, but he wasn't paying attention to him. Slade had his gaze on Dick, he had a triumphant look in his eye as his saw his new apprentice throw aside his old mantle.

"Then what should I call you?" Wintergreen asked.

"My name. Call me Dick." He smiled again, this time more pained. Wintergreen nodded and Dick looked back down to the floor, he was tired. Everything just felt so surreal, too much had happened and all Dick wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

"Wintergreen, will you show Dick his room?" The man nodded and Slade continued, "Dick, head to bed. We begin training tomorrow."

Dick wanted to protest, to say it was too soon. But he was too tired and the sound of a bed was too inviting. So Dick found himself nodding in agreement.

"Good, rest up." And with that Slade left through a door without another word, leaving Dick alone with Wintergreen. Wintergreen gestured for Dick to follow and soon they began to make their way through the familiar corridors to Dick's room. It was the same room as he had before and Wintergreen held the door open for him as he entered.

Dick walked quietly over to the bed and sat down; he wasn't in the mood to talk. Wintergreen seemed to understand and didn't enter the room after him, instead hovering in the doorway.

"There is a change of clothes in the chest of draws; I'll leave you to it."

Dick nodded and Wintergreen left, closing the door behind him. Dick wasted no time in getting changed into a plain black top and grey pyjama bottoms and slipped into bed, wrapping the soft blankets around him. He shut his eyes, Dick hadn't felt this comfortable and relaxed in a long time and he quickly felt himself starting to drift into unconsciousness. Soon, Dick felt himself fall into a deep and welcoming slumber.

Dick woke up wrapped up in the warmth of his blankets, his body was completely relaxed. It was one of the best night sleeps that Dick had had in a long time, and he just lay there quietly, soaking it in. Once he felt himself wake up more, Dick slowly moved into a sitting position and stretched his back, hearing a satisfied crack.

Dick leaned back into the soft pillows and took another look around the room; everything was just as he left it, maybe with a few more books added to the bookshelf, most likely courtesy of Wintergreen. He smiled at the thought, from his time spent with Wintergreen and his officious manners, Dick realised that it was the little things that showed that the man did care, and this was one of those moments.

He was still smiling when there was a knock on the door and Wintergreen walked in,

"Hey Wintergreen."

"Good morning Dick, breakfast will be ready in ten minutes. You will be eating in the kitchen; do you remember where it is?"

Dick continued to smile and nodded,

"Yep, see you in ten."

Wintergreen nodded and left the room. Dick slowly removed himself from the covers and stretched out his muscles as he stood, quickly getting changed into a clean pair of plain black and grey clothes. He made quick use of the bathroom and left his room, wondering down the corridors towards the kitchen.

The mansion was quiet as Dick walked through, his footsteps echoing around the halls. It felt almost lonely and reminded Dick of when he first arrived at Wayne Manor. He shook his head and crushed down the thought before it brought up unwanted emotions.

Dick entered the kitchen and found a plate of eggs and bacon waiting for him on the kitchen table in the middle of the room. He sat himself down and started to tuck in as Wintergreen moved about him, preparing for later meals.

Dick's breakfast was good, it didn't compare to Alfred's cooking, but it was good. Wintergreen came over half way through the meal and poured Dick a glass of orange juice,

"Thank you. This is really good Wintergreen." Dick appreciated, gesturing to his food.

"Thank you." He replied mid pour. "After breakfast, Slade has instructed that I give you a tour of the mansion. Most of the rooms here are now open to you."

"Sounds good, where's Slade right now?"

"He has business that he needs to attend to this morning, he will join you once he has finished." Dick nodded and finished off the rest of his breakfast, seeing that Wintergreen was waiting patiently for him. He washed up his dishes and the pair then left the kitchen to start the tour.

Wintergreen lead Dick all the way around the mansion, most of the routes and rooms Dick had seen before, but there were other places that where new to Dick. Wintergreen showed him most of the rooms that were previously locked, the weapons room, Slade's tech room where he made all of his robots and gadgets, the library, the med bay and others. Some rooms where still locked, like Slade and Wintergreen's private chambers, which Dick could understand.

The tour of the mansion ended when Wintergreen came to a stop in front of the gym,

"Slade is waiting for you inside."

The corridor suddenly became slightly tense, Dick still felt slightly awkward around Slade.

"Oh, uh ok. Thanks for the tour Wintergreen."

Wintergreen nodded and walked off. Dick was a lot more comfortable around Wintergreen than Slade, but sometimes things could still be awkward between them. He would sometimes be open with Dick and happily talk with him, and others he would just be stiff and only talk the bare minimum. Dick shrugged to himself and decided that he was going to have to get to know the man better.

Dick took a breath and opened the door before walking inside. He found Slade waiting on the other side of the room, standing by a table setup with different items that Dick couldn't make out. Slade turned to face Dick,

"Ah Dick. Did you sleep well?" Slade asked politely. Dick nodded,

"Yes."

Slade looked at Dick for a moment,

"Dick. Now that you are my apprentice, I expect you to call me sir." He stated firmly. Dick frowned, this was not what he was expecting,

"Why?" he questioned, his eyes narrowing.

"As a sign of respect."

"Batman never made me call him sir." Dick growled,

"Batman is no longer your mentor." Slade stated. "As my apprentice I am giving you the respect you deserve. Therefor, I ask the same of you."

"This isn't what I signed up for."

"Then what did you sign up for?" He asked, arms folded across his chest.

"To be treated fairly for a change." Dick retaliated

"And I am. As my apprentice you are being taught everything I know, you will give the same respect as a pupil gives their teacher. Once I believe you have learnt everything you can, I will treat you as an equal. That, I can promise you."

There was a heavy pause as Dick studied Slade, trying to figure out if he was actually telling the truth. He must have been satisfied, as soon Dick lowered his gaze and took a step back, sighing.

"Fine" He muttered and Slade smiled from beneath his mask,

"Good." Slade turned to the table behind him and picked up an item.

"Training begins now." He threw the object at Dick and due to his quick reflexes, caught it with ease. Dick stared down at the object in his hands,

"What the _hell _is this?" He demanded,

"I do believe that this is a Browning 9mm pistol." Slade retorted as though he was discussing the weather. Dick's face darkened at Slade's tone,

"I know _what _it is; I want to know _why_ it's here." He growled,

"Dick, you are fully aware of my occupation and as such-"

"-Of course I know your-"

"-AND as such," He continued, ignoring Dick's interruption. "It is my obligation to teach you how to shoot as it's one of the most effective ways to achieve success on a mission."

"I don't _care_; I told you I am not going to kill anyone!" Dick shouted, angry that Slade though that he could just get him to change his principles, his morals. Dick wasn't having any of it, he only left everyone because they betrayed him, and he didn't go off with some mercenary to learn how to kill, to forget who he was.

"This is not up for discussion Richard. I am a mercenary and this falls under the job description, I will teach you this and you will learn. If not, you can run straight back to the people who deserted you, I will have nothing to do with you." Slade stated coldly, towering over Dick.

Dick involuntary shivered at the tone in Slade's voice. He wanted to shrink under the cold gaze of his piercing eye, but Dick stood fast in an attempt not to show weakness. But Slade was right; he couldn't go back to Batman, not after this. They would never accept him, not after he blew a hole in the side of the mountain and left with the most wanted mercenary on the planet. Slade was placing him in an extremely difficult position.

"You're seriously not expecting me to kill, are you?" Dick asked, exasperated. He cautiously held the pistol in his hands, occasionally he would glance down at it, not comfortable with feeling the cold metal weigh down his hands.

"No, not yet." Dick let out a sigh he had been holding.

"You're not ready. For now, all you will be learning is how to safely handle the weapon, and you will only shoot it once you have learnt and understood every working part." Slade stated calmly.

Dick was silent as he stared down at the gun; the two sides of his conscience were battling it out. It was going against everything he was taught by Batman to even be holding a gun, let alone learning how to use one. But Slade wasn't going to teach him how to shoot yet, only how to look after the gun. Just learning how the weapon works, right? There was no harm in that, if anything, it would help to prepare him from enemies with guns in the future. After all, he wasn't learning how to kill people, yet.

He brought his attention back up to meet Slade,

"So you're not going to teach me how to shoot anyone?"

Slade shook his head, "Not yet."

Dick nodded and bit his lip,

"Ok, I guess I can learn."

"Good."

Slade didn't waste any time, he didn't really care how torn Dick was with the circumstance. If Dick could learn this, then Slade almost had him. He walked over to Dick and took the gun out of his hands; he walked back over to the table and beckoned Dick to follow.

Making sure that Dick was watching, Slade dissembled the weapon in front of him; explaining each part of the weapon in turn to Dick. He then reassembled and then dissembled the gun one last time to make sure that Dick had taken it in, before instructing him to do it himself under Slade's watchful gaze.

Slade got Dick to do nothing else throughout the day, just making him reassemble and dissemble the gun and making Dick recount what each part of the weapon until he had it thoroughly embedded in his memory.

Dick worked hard, not breaking concentration. At first, he was a little hesitant and slow when he picked up the gun, but once he got himself into a rhythm Dick almost forgot it was a gun he was handling and efficiently continued the training.

Slade was silent as he watched Dick work with the gun, it was repetitive but necessary. Slade had to be sure that Dick respected and knew every part of the gun before firing it; otherwise there will be an accident.

While watching Slade spoke up,

"You need to think of a name."

Dick paused in what he was doing and gently placed down the gun,

"Pardon?"

"I said you need to think of a name, I think it would be inappropriate for you to continue as Robin."

Dick was silent. He knew he was going to have to give up the title at some point, and he was trying to prepare himself for it, but it had still come too soon. He nodded,

"I know." Dick sighed.

"How about Renegade?" Slade suggested and Dick looked up at him sharply,

"No" was his firm answer, "I did not betray them, they were the ones who betrayed me." His voice was harsh, it was his teammates and mentor who left him no choice but to leave and train with a criminal. Dick didn't class himself as a villain, he was still loyal to the heroes, he just couldn't work or train with them any longer, he would change his name to something he was not.

"Then what do you suggest?"

Dick looked up at Slade, determination in his eyes,

"Radical."

**xxxx**

**Well what did you think? Review and let me know!**

**It took me ages to find a new name for Dick, and I'm still not 100% sure on this one. ****I know that it is traditionally Renegade, but I felt that it didnt work here at this point in time, so I'm sorry if your dissapointed but if you have any suggestions I'm open to them :)**

**See you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi guys! PhoenixxFlame here!**

**So first off, I think I owe you all an apology. I had planned to upload way sooner than this but ended up not updating for who knows how long, so sorry! The reason being, that I had just got back for my holiday to Italy for three weeks and was unable to upload anything, the place we were staying said it had wifi but when we got there it was broken.**

**But never mind, it was nice not to be connected to the internet for so long, it helped me to relax! I have got to say that Italy is an amazing place and I really recommend you go, especially to Lake Maggiore. It is absolutely beautiful :)**

**I really appreciate everyones comments and reviews, they help to persuade me to write more! **

**If you have any questions at all about anything just PM me, I'll be happy to reply.**

**And with Dick's new name, I know I wasn't too certain about it when I first posted, but writing more I have grown to like it a lot more and so will be keeping it as Radical :) But I really appreciate everyone's idea's and thoughts on it, so thankyou for taking the time in letting me know what you thought!**

**Ok, I think I'm done with the announcements now so I'll let you all enjoy the latest chapter.**

**Read and review!**

**xxxx**

A dark figure stood atop the block of flats closest to the row of derelict warehouses that lined Gotham city. Each warehouse was supposed to be empty, but the particular building that the figure had his eye on had its interior lights switched on, giving the shadow and obvious hint that something was going on.

The shadow knelt down onto the edge of the building and studied the warehouse through a pair of binoculars. From what he could see, the building looked pretty well guarded. Guards were dotted all around the perimeter and each carried a weapon, the most common being an assault rifle.

Turning his attention from the guards, he focused on finding a suitable way to slip into the warehouse unnoticed. His eyes quickly dotted around, calculating the best route to take and slowly a smirk made its way onto his face as he formulated a quick and easy plan. Suddenly static filled his left ear,

"Radical." A commanding voice spoke.

Radical sighed as he lowered the binoculars and placed a hand to his ear piece,

"Yes Slade?"

"Have you come across any problems?" His mentor asked, Radical brought the binoculars back up to eye level and studied the scene down below, in case there were any changes that he needed to be aware of.

"None so far." Radical reported,

"Then hurry up, you're taking too long." Slade ordered. Radical snorted and shook his head, lowering the binoculars back down so they rested on his knees.

"You really are a joy to work with, you know that?"

"Shut up and get on with it." With that, Slade cut off the communication. Radical sighed and stood back onto his feet, putting away the binoculars.

The one thing that Radical had learned about Slade while training with him, was his sense of humour. To put it simply, he didn't have one, especially on missions. It felt like working with a robot.

It had been a year since Dick had made the transformation from Robin to Radical. He had left town with Slade and Wintergreen a week after he had left his old team and went to train in one of Slade's many haunts outside of Gotham city. Throughout that time Dick had grown to a height of 5'8 and hadn't stopped, happy that he wasn't going to be short forever. Although it did make the training harder as Dick had to adapt his style slightly to compensate for his longer reach.

The training had been extremely tough, Slade pushed him to his limit and most of the time would end up with Dick receiving medical treatment from Wintergreen. Sometimes Dick would finish the day by coming to a draw with Slade, but he had never once beaten his new mentor, which had become one of the goals that Dick strived to accomplish.

If he wasn't doing physical training, Slade would have Dick work on strategy or get him to work on electronics, sometimes getting him to work on making his own Robots. The one thing that Dick didn't enjoy learning was guns. Slade had made it clear that he was to learn this skill or leave and Dick reluctantly agreed, although he constantly reminded Slade at how much he disliked it.

Slade had also demanded that Dick carry a pistol with him as he completed any mission, otherwise Slade wouldn't allow him to leave the haunt at all and threaten to throw Dick out completely. So unfortunately, Dick had to constantly have a heavy weight on his hip where the gun was held on his uniform, it was awkward and uncomfortable to know it was there, but Dick put up with it and so far, had no reason to use it.

The missions Slade had sent him on so far weren't dangerous or serious. They were mainly reconnaissance missions, to help improve his stealth, but sometimes Slade would send him out to deliver 'messages' to his clients, just to give him an idea to Slade's work. There had been no missions in Gotham apart from tonight and so to Batman, Dick had just disappeared.

But even though Dick had completely left Robin for Radical, he had never considered himself a criminal. He had lost faith in his team and Batman when they betrayed him, and so had left to train to be the best he could and come back, and bring Zucco and other criminals to justice. Dick felt that he still sided with the heroes.

But because of Dick's moral decision it made working with Slade awkward and tense. Slade knew that Dick still hadn't completely sided with him yet and grew angry and frustrated with him whenever he refused to do as he asked. There were times where Slade and Dick got on well with each other, but they were rare and never lasted. But Dick stuck with it, knowing that Slade was the best chance he had to improve his skills.

Wintergreen was Dick's comfort while learning from Slade. Having to spend the last year with the elderly man had meant that they had grown accustom to each other and had often kept each other company when Slade left on business. Dick had grown quite fond of the man and he felt that in some ways Wintergreen had felt the same. His actual mannerisms hadn't changed at all but Dick began to notice the little things that showed the man cared, like a slight smile when having a conversation or casually making small jokes. To a stranger that would mean nothing, but to those around him it did mean a great deal and Dick knew he probably would have gone mad if Wintergreen hadn't been there.

But now Dick was back, his training leaving him quicker and sharper. The mission that Slade had sent Dick on tonight was more to make himself known within the Gotham community and announce their arrival.

The mission was to interrupt a money transfer between two of Gotham's more dangerous criminals, Penguin and Two-Face. Dick's objective was to stop the transfer completely and take the money back to Slade. If Slade had asked him to do this in any other circumstance Dick would have refused, but tonight he could make an exception; the money was probably stolen in the first place.

But Dick wasn't ignorant to why Slade sent him on this mission. He knew full well that Batman wasn't going to let this exchange happen; at some point he was going to show up to put a stop to it and find Dick wearing Slade's colours. Slade intended parade him right in front of his former mentor, to show him how Slade had succeeded where he had failed.

It made Dick uneasy as conflicting emotions raced through him. A part of him knew that he should be angry and confront Slade, but an equally large part of him also wanted to see Batman's reaction, to see some sort of emotion in his eyes, anger, guilt, anything. Dick wanted to see if he still held some importance in Bruce's life, which is why he went along with this mission.

Radical continued to watch the warehouse below, mentally preparing himself. He stretched and brought himself to his full height, giving a slight flex of his muscles to make sure his suit was comfortable. The change from Robin to Radical also meant a change in uniform, instead of the brighter colours of the Robin uniform; his new Radical uniform consisted almost entirely of black, the only colour on the uniform was the small orange stripes along the seams.

There was no cape on the Radical suit, which allowed Dick more movement for his acrobatic styled attacks and was made from a light Kevlar. Strapped onto his lower back were his twin eskrima sticks, which could join together to become a staff for longer ranged attacks and he wore a dark grey belt which contained all of his other equipment like explosives, throwing stars and smoke pellets. On his gloves was his wrist computer and strapped to his thighs were his dual pistols that Slade had made him take on every mission.

Taking one more breath Radical propelled himself of the building and made his way down to the ground, using the buildings fire escapes and stairs to swing himself down as quietly as possible. As soon as his feet touched the ground he was off, quickly making his way over the small wired fence and through a gap in the guards. He kept to the shadows as he silently climbed up some building materials by the wall of the warehouse and through a small open window.

Without stopping Radical moved to find a good vantage point, he kept to the shadows as much as possible and moved silently, only allowing himself to breathe once he was certain he could not be seen from his chosen angle. The Warehouse was exactly what it was, a warehouse. Dotted throughout were empty leftover crates, giving Radical more cover if needed.

The rest was relatively simple from here; Radical could do nothing until the transfer started. Two-Face was waiting impatiently on the ground for Penguin to arrive, there was a table set in the centre of the building with a large briefcase on top, most likely holding the money. A few of Two-Face's men patrolled the inside of the warehouse while they waited, giving them something to do.

The best thing for Radical to do would be to grab the money now before Penguin showed with his men and make things more difficult for him. But this mission wasn't just about the money, it was about making himself known to the criminal underworld. And the best way to make himself known would be to have both of the high class villains here to steal from and make fools of, rather than just one.

Radical didn't know what the deal Penguin and Two-Face was and he didn't want to know, the dealings of Gotham's criminals were Batman's business, they no longer concerned him and that suited him just fine.

It was another fifteen minutes before Penguin made himself known. Two-Face was reaching the end of his limits waiting, he had crossed one arm over his chest and was flipping his coin with his other hand, a snarl was on the undamaged side of his face; every now and then he growled and set his men on edge, none of them wanting to be on the receiving end of his rage.

His scowl didn't leave when Penguin walked in, in fact, it intensified.

"You're late." He growled as Penguin strolled up, using his umbrella like a cane. He didn't seem worried at the intensity of Two-Face's scowl, or the anger in his voice. He took it in his stride and gave a smirk as he made his way up to the table.

Penguin brought his own set of men with him for the transfer, and as he walked to the table they fanned out among the warehouse, giving Two-Face's men suspicious glares as they passed.

Radical paid little attention to the actual conversation between the two criminals and more to the positions of their men. They were going to be the most problem due to their numbers and would need to be taken care of first; Radical couldn't make a move on Two-Face or Penguin yet anyway until he was certain that the briefcase held the money, just to be certain.

Radical ran through possibilities to find the best course of action and soon came up with a plan and was about to move down from his perch,

"Do you have the money?" Penguin questioned, breathing smoke from his pipe off to the side.

"Of course I do." Two-Face growled in response and opened the briefcase, showing Penguin the stacks of bills. Greed flashed in Penguin's eyes and he grinned.

"Good Harvey, very good. Maybe we'll do more deals in the future if you keep this up." He smirked and Two-Face snorted in response.

Radical gave a smirk of his own, that was what he was waiting for. He zoned out the rest of their conversation and got to work. He silently made his way through the warehouse to quietly take down the men at the edge of the room, working down the numbers. He worked swiftly and quickly and then moved back to begin the next phase of his plan.

Just as penguin and Two-Face shook hands on the deal was when Radical made his move. As fast as he could he threw down a smoke bomb and leapt down to the ground, taking down one of Penguin's men in the process.

"It's the Bat!" Someone cried but Radical took no notice. He didn't stop, in the confusion of the smoke Radical leapt and danced his way around the guards and knocked them unconscious before they knew what was going on. He moved quickly, but the smoke was disappearing faster than he could take them down and soon he was fully visible.

Radical looked around him and quickly brought out his eskrima sticks, to help him take them down quicker. He had to be more careful with his attacks and had to move quicker to make sure that no one had a chance to take a shot at him, and quickly took down the rest of the guards.

Radical had already checked and made sure that Penguin and Two-Face weren't going anywhere, he didn't have to do anything. The two criminals were too busy fighting amongst themselves over the money to leave, once again reminding Radical at how greedy and self-centred most criminals were.

Knocking the last guard out, Radical began to make his way towards the arguing pair. It didn't take them long to realise that all of their men were taken out and soon turned their weapons on to him.

"This ain't the Bat." Penguin stated, jabbing his umbrella at Radical like a sword. Two-Face sent a look over to his fellow villain at the obvious remark and then brought his attention back to Radical, keeping his gun trained on his chest.

"Who the hell are you, boy?" He growled. Radical smirked and gave a shrug,

"Oh you know, just a soul passing through."

"Oh yeah? What about our men?" Penguin gestured to the unconscious bodies that littered the floor.

"Oh them? I got bored." Radical shrugged again like it was nothing. Two-Face gave a chuckle but his expression remained angry,

"Cocky little bastard ,aren't ya?"

Radical gave a smile,

"It's part of my charm."

The criminal's expression grew darker, not impressed with his cockiness.

"What are you doing here, boy?" Two-Face growled out.

"Just meeting the locals, and picking up a few things for my instructor."

Penguin lowered his umbrella slightly,

"And who might that be?" He squawked and Radical put his eskrima sticks away and placed his hands on his hips, getting into a relaxed position.

"Deathstroke the Terminator."

The two criminals looked slightly surprised and Two-Face lowered his gun.

"I heard Deathstroke got himself a brat." He said to Penguin, confirming his claim, "What's your name kid?"

"Radical."

"Nice name." Two-face stated sarcastically but was disappointed when Radical didn't respond. He continued,

"And I take it you want to make off with my cash?"

"Hey! That's my cash you're on about!" Penguin interrupted, glaring at his temporary ally. Radical ignored them both and nodded,

"That right."

A nasty snarl made its way onto Two-Face's face, his deformed half's eye twitched dangerously.

"I don't take lightly to those who steal from me."

"Oh for God's sake, quit yapping. Let's just deal with the kid." Penguin snapped, eager to get this over and done with.

"Fine." Two-Face retorted and took out his coin. He brought it up to show Radical,

"Heads you live, tails you die." He stated bluntly.

Radical did nothing as Two-Face tossed the coin into the air. He knew all of their tricks already from working with Batman, he was just thankful that they hadn't figured out that he used to be Robin. But added to his growth spurt and the fact that these villains weren't the brightest, he wasn't too worried. Slade would probably announce how he used to be Robin later anyway.

Two-Face caught the coin and glanced down at it. He brought the gun up and feral smile made its way onto his face,

"Time to die."

That was when Radical burst into action.

He jumped to the side as Two-Face shot at him and ran at Penguin. He held his breath as Penguin released a cloud of poisonous smoke from his umbrella and ran right through. It was risky and arrogant, but Radical needed to show that he meant business.

He slammed a fist straight into Penguin's nose and sent him flying across the room. He then pivoted on his foot and knocked the gun from Two-Face's hand when he tried to get another shot in; Two-Face retaliated with a punch to the stomach. Radical quickly blocked it and brought up his leg and kicked Two-Face away, and brought his attention back to Penguin who brought a blade out at the end of his umbrella.

Penguin slashed out, and Radical was forced to go on the defence stepping back against Penguin's aggressive strokes. Radical kept evading the attacks and Penguin grew more frustrated, giving an angry yell the criminal gave a yell and swiped hard at Radical's head. Radical calmly stepped aside of the attack and grabbed the umbrella from his grasp, Penguin let out a gasp as he lost hold of his weapon. Radical wasted no time in slamming the umbrella down on the back of Penguin's head and watched as he went down hard.

Radical then spun around to Two-Face, the man was surprised at how easily and quickly he had taken out Penguin. The man was still for a moment before an expression of anger filled his face,

"You bastard!" He cried and brought up the gun again. Radical jumped out of the way of his shot and raced behind one of the large crates as Two-Face let out a constant stream of bullets. He waited patiently for an opening, but his hand itched down to the guns on his side. Using his guns would be the easiest thing to do in this situation and he could hear Slade's voice, willing him to put his finger on the trigger.

But Radical gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists, refusing to give into the guns. He could do this without them, but he was losing time. Batman was going to show soon and he didn't want to still have to deal with Two-Face when he got here. He closed his eyes and concentrated, suddenly, the sound of gunfire stopped and Radical peered over the crate to see Two-Face racing for the exit. He cursed and jumped, throwing a shuriken at Two-Face's legs and knocking him over. Racing forward, Radical jumped onto his back and grabbed his hair while placing his arm into an uncomfortable arm lock,

"Leaving so soon?" he questioned and slammed Two-face's head down onto the ground, dazing him. Being quick, Radical quickly tied all of the men up and tied Penguin and Two-Face up together.

It was only a couple of minutes before Two-Face and Penguin regained their senses.

"You'll pay for this, you brat." He heard Penguin threaten and he turned to face them both.

"I'm just doing my job." He shrugged and walked over,

"I'm supposed to head straight back once I have the money, but I guess I have time to ask you both a question."

He spoke with a smile and knelt down in front them, the criminals looked at him in anger but he took no notice. Then, the smile disappeared and Radical's face turned serious.

"Where is Tony Zucco?"

* * *

Batman knew something was wrong as soon as he made his way into the warehouse district. He and Robin wasted no time in dispatching the guards outside of the building and quickly moved on to the interior. Having a quick look through the windows, he cursed and came crashing in, landing in the centre of the room with Robin, looking at the scene around him.

Both Penguin's and Two-Face's men were tied up in a corner and the villains themselves were in the centre of the room, tied together. But that wasn't what held both Batman and Robin's attention; their gaze was on the darkly clad boy standing over the two men. His back was to them and Batman scowled, he didn't recognise the person who looked like he had taken out tow of Gotham's worse criminals.

Radical mentally cursed as he heard the pair make their way into the building but he held himself up tall. He knew that the Dynamic Duo was going to show up at some point but he had hoped that he'd have finished before they arrived. He cast one last glance at the unconscious criminals before him and grimaced, they didn't really give him anything on Zucco, other than the fact that he was still operating within Gotham. It wasn't much, but it was a start and it did make thing a little easier in tracking the murderer down.

Radical took a breath and slowly turned, knowing he was going to have to face Batman sooner or later. But he was hesitant. Radical had thought that he had gotten over the worst of their betrayal ages ago, but here he was, unsure how to proceed.

His mind whirled as millions of thoughts raced through his mind. When he was training with Slade, Radical had gone through countless situations in his head of what he wanted to say. But as his eyes landed on the new Dynamic Duo, his mind went blank and he couldn't think of anything. But one thing he did know was the anger that swept through him.

While there was silence he let his eyes do a quick sweep of the pair. Robin looked the same, although he had grown an inch or two. There was a glare on his face as he tried to figure out who Radical was, making Radical think that his attitude probably hadn't changed at all since they last met.

Radical glanced over to Batman next, he showed no emotions and his face was blank as he studied Radical. But he knew that Batman was confused and slightly surprised, after being with him for years he could pick up on his habits. He tried not to squirm as he felt his former mentor's questioning eyes look him over, deciding if he was a threat or not.

"It's about time you showed up." Batman's eyes narrowed,

"Who are you?" Robin demanded. Radical didn't reply, instead he looked at the Boy Wonder and allowed his smirk to grow bigger. Robin's eyes narrowed and tried again,

"Did you do this?" He questioned. Radical allowed his smirk to burst into a full on smile and he nodded,

"Yep."

Robin looked startled,

"How did you manage that!? These are two of Gotham's major criminals!" Robin gestured to the unconscious men. Radical shrugged in response,

"They weren't that difficult to take out, especially when you know what to expect. But it took a _lot _of training, and I mean _a lot._ A year ago I wouldn't have lasted five minutes."

Radical watched as Batman's eyes narrowed further, trying to figure it out. He was having fun giving hints to his identity; it would have been easier and quicker if he just told them, but he was curious to see if they could figure it out. Radical could tell that Robin wasn't piecing it together, not picking up on the hints and not thinking anything was strange, just a new face to the city. But he knew Batman wouldn't miss them; he wasn't called the world's best detective for nothing.

"Why?" Batman's voice rumbled, cold. Radical smirked again,

"I've just moved to Gotham, so I thought I'd meet the neighbours." He gestured with his thumb over to the unconscious men, "I also needed to pick up something."

He bent down and picked up the money,

"I'm going to take this and leave."

Robin instinctively went back into a defensive stance, Batman remained impassive,

"You can't do that." Robin growled. Radical's smirk fell, Robin made him mad.

"Listen Squirt, don't tell me what I can and can't do."

Robin flushed in anger,

"Squirt!? You're just a kid too, you know!"

"Still older than you."

"How do you know?"

Radical remained silent for a short while,

"See ya." He said finally and threw down a smoke bomb, disappearing from sight. Batman instantly burst into action,

"Robin, take care of things here. Call Gordon and wait, I'll take care of him."

If Robin wanted to rebel, he had no time too. In a flash, Batman had exited the warehouse and gave chase, leaving Robin alone.

* * *

Radical raced as fast as he could across the rooftops, leaping and jumping over the alleys between. It was awkward to carry such a bulky briefcase but he knew Batman would come after him and so needed to put as much distance between him and the Bat as fast as he could.

"Slade." Radical called into his communicator,

"yes?" Came the reply,

"I have just acquired the money, but I've run into trouble. I'll be back as soon as I've lost him." He reported.

"Good, and make it quick. You've wasted enough time already." Slade then abruptly ended the communication, leaving Radical alone. He knew he was going to be having an earful when he got back. Slade was very particular about timing.

Radical pushed on, but it wasn't long until he spotted a dark shadow racing along behind him. He moved faster, but every time he did Batman kept up and soon he was gaining on the former Boy Wonder.

Radical tried to feint, back track or change course, but every time Batman would appear sooner or later, back on his trail. And soon, Radical realised that he wasn't going to be able to out run the vigilante. He cursed and looked for a suitable place to stand, quickly recognising a large open rooftop.

He stopped and turned, holding the briefcase tightly in his hand, and waited. Batman landed a moment later and stood a few feet away from him, eyes cold and dangerous, waiting for Radical to make a move.

They stood in silence, evaluating each other until Radical waved the case in the air,

"You're not going to let me just take this, are you?"

"No. That money doesn't belong to you." Batman stated.

"Probably doesn't belong to Two-Face either." He retorted with a shrug of his shoulders and allowed a cheeky smirk to make its way onto his face.

Batman's eyes narrowed,

"Who are you?" He growled.

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet? Come on Bats, I thought you were supposed to be the world's greatest detective!"

Batman said nothing and carried on staring at him, his mind whirling with possibilities. Radical allowed him a moment to think, but he soon grew bored and was a little disappointed at how Batman had yet to produce an answer. He sighed,

"Have I really changed that much? It's only been a year…" He trailed off.

"Dick?"

"You look whelmed, although I go by Radical now." Radical confirmed with a smirk. There was a slight pause,

"Why are you here?" Batman questioned. His voice was still cold and Radical couldn't pick up any emotion. A brief twang of sadness swept through him, did Batman really care that little for him? Was this because of him leaving, or was this his true feelings all along?

He tried to keep his expression impassive as he spoke,

"To bring Zucco to justice." He spoke with the same coldness and Batman internally flinched, when did Dick turn so cold?

"And how are you going to do that?" He asked suspiciously. Radical bit his teeth together and growled out the response,

"The same way I always have. I'm not going to kill him, I'm no criminal."

"No. You just work for a criminal." Batman retorted icily. Radical could feel himself getting angrier the more their conversation continued, he could feel his hands begin to turn white as he clench the handle of the briefcase,

"You left me no choice, Deathstroke was the only person I could turn to."

For that, Batman had no answer and Radical felt a little satisfaction at his silence.

Suddenly, there was a sharp noise in Radical's ear as Slade attempted to make contact. He quickly raised his free hand to his ear,

"Not now." He growled and turned it off before Slade had a chance to reply. Radical knew he was going to get chewed out later, but he didn't care at the moment.

Batman glowered at the quick communication,

"I can't let you leave."

Radical's eyes narrowed,

"Try it." He challenged and the fight began.

Batman responded by throwing a Bat'a'rang. Radical ducked and pivoted on his foot, spinning out of the way of the attack and threw a shuriken of his own. Batman dodged the attack and ran towards him, bringing up his fist. Radical blocked the punch with the briefcase, grunting slightly at the force behind the attack. Batman meant business.

Radical pushed the briefcase up into the air, forcing Batman's fist with it and kicked him in the stomach, forcing him back a few steps. Not letting go of the briefcase, Radical pushed forward and attempted a turning kick to his temple. Batman brought his arms up high and blocked the attack, and then quickly twisted his wrists so that he grabbed Radical's leg and brought him to the ground. Radical twisted his foot out of his hold and rolled, preventing the wind getting knocked out of him.

He rolled a few feet away and got to his feet. But Batman didn't wait; he raced forwards and sent a kick to Radical's side. He blocked with his free hand and retaliated with bringing the briefcase in a wide ark slamming it across Batman's head. But he was ready; Batman quickly caught the oncoming briefcase by Radical's wrist and twisted, forcing him to drop it to the ground with a cry.

Without stopping, Batman drew Radical in close, head-butted him and let go. Radical staggered back a couple of steps, disorientated. Batman quickly came in with a punch sluggishly avoided and fell to the ground.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the disorientation, Radical looked up angrily at Batman as he approached. He was sloppy, and too over-confident. It caused this fight to be quick and embarrassing for him. He wanted to show Batman how much he had improved without him, make him feel regret for making him quit being Robin.

He glanced at the briefcase behind Batman and realised he wasn't going to be able to escape long with it, he cursed, Slade was not going to be pleased. Breathing deep and even breaths, his body tensed and he slowly reached for the smoke pellets in his belt, waiting for his opportunity.

He watched as Batman began to bring up his hand and gripped the pellets tighter, when suddenly. Blood spurted from Batman's hand.

Batman's eyes grew wide and he let out a cry of pain, clutching his hand to his chest, his attention momentarily away from Radical. Knowing this was the best time to act, Radical dashed to the side and raced to the Briefcase, quickly snatching it up and ran to the edge of the rooftop.

He sent one last glance to Batman,

"See ya."

"Dick..."

That was the last thing Radical heard before he leapt off the building and quickly made his way back to base. He kept his eye out for Batman as he travelled, but saw no signs of him following. Batman had given up for now.

Then, his communicator went off. This time, it was Slade who as first to speak.

"Hurry up." Was his order before he continued, "I will not help you again."

Radical bit down a retort,

"Yes sir."

"Good. And Radical?"

"Yes?" He grunted as he ran.

"Do not cut me off again." Slade's voice was dangerous,

"Yes sir."

**xxxx**

**Ok so that's it this time round. ****What did you all think?**

**Review and let me know!**

**See you next time,**

**PhoenixxFlame**


End file.
